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: 10 April 2019; Hits: 9199

Kenya to export avocados, baby carrots and broccoli to the Mauritius market

Kenyan farmers can now export avocados; baby carrots and broccoli to the Mauritius market after the products were approved by the oceanic island nation.

This comes at a time when Kenya has overtaken South Africa as the largest exporter of avocados in Africa.

According to statistics by the International Trade Center, Kenya became the largest exporter of avocados in Africa in 2017, exporting a record volume of 51, 507 tons to the world. South Africa, traditionally the lead exporter of the world fruit from the Agriculture-rich continent, relinquished the position and trailed Kenya for the first time ever in history with 43, 492 tons.

Kenya has over 40 varieties of avocado. Hass is the main export variety and is preferred due to higher fat content than other varieties which gives it a richer taste while Fuerte is preferred for processing.

Hass avocado variety is on demand in the international markets such as UAE, UK, Russia and Spain with more than 70 per cent market share.

Other commercial varieties are Keitt, Reed, Booth 8, Simmonds, Pinkerton, Nabal, Puebla, Tonnage, Ettinger, Hayes, G6 and G7. Varieties used as rootstocks include Puebla, Fuerte, Duke, G6, and G7 according to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization.

Kenya’s pool of the biggest avocado importers includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and more recently, the Russian Federation.

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avocado selina wamuci

Avocado packaging by Selina Wamucii, a local fresh fruit exporter. Photo/file.

The UAE tops the list with some 12, 041 tons followed by the Netherlands with 10, 556 tons. France is the third biggest importer: its net volume stood at 10, 423 tons in the same year. Saudi Arabia is the country’s fourth importer with some 4, 874 tons worth of imports in 2017. The Russian Federation currently holds the 5th position in trade volumes that have culminated at 4,171 tons in 2017. The United Kingdom and Spain close the top seven with volumes that verged on 2,944 and 1,734 tons respectively in 2017.

The most common varieties of carrots exported by Kenya are Nantes, a long, straight and tasty carrot which is cylindrical and straight with a rounded tip and Super Kuroda: an excellent carrot with a straight tapered shape leading into a point.

For broccoli exportation, the Kenya Horticulture Exporters (KHE) is one of the biggest exporters of the crop to international markets. In fact, the organization transports at least 22 tonnes a day of fresh produce from raspberries to tender stem broccoli through IAG Cargo, the cargo handling division of International Airlines Group and annually it exports 7500 tonnes of perishables via IAG Cargo.

Broccoli producing areas in Kenya areas include; Nairobi, Laikipia, Kiambu, Muranga, Makueni and part of Rift Valley among others. It is best grown in areas with a lot of sunlight and fertile as well as acidic soils.

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: 10 April 2019; Hits: 15547

Why the proposed animal manure bill could hurt Kenya’s food production goals

The government has proposed a new bill through the Food Crops Regulations 2018 which if passed by parliament will make it illegal for farmers to use animal manure in food production. This will do more harm than good in a country where people are dying of hunger as we try to increase food production in order to sustain ourselves.

Regulation 30 (1) and (2) of the bill which was drafted by the Cabinet Secretary Agriculture, county governments and the Agriculture and Food Authority states that a grower shall not use raw animal manure for the production of food crops. Instead, growers shall only use chemical fertilizers at rates recommended by the respective County Government.

Any farmer who fails to adhere to the rules or blocks an inspector from accessing his/her farm is liable to a fine of three million shillings or a jail term of three years if the regulations are approved.

In Nandi where I hail from for instance, more than 70 per cent of farmers use animal manure in crop production as a result of mixed farming and as such the rules may hamper yields, reduce income and demoralize farmers.

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ManureAmiranKenyaAgronomistWycliffeObwogeByLabanRobert

Animal manure contains most elements required for plant growth including Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium and micronutrients. Besides adding organic matter into the soil it improves the structure, aeration and helps the soil hold water.

For smallholder farmers keeping animals and growing crops, manure is readily available for use in the farm at no cost while fertilizer prices are controlled by the state.

The government through the National Cereals and Produce Board has been distributing subsidized fertilizer to farmers in Kenya’s bread baskets of North Rift and Western Kenya but the quantity is low and demand high. This means that farmers have to combine manure and fertilizer at planting while others incur more costs buying at market rates.

In 2017 for instance, Uasin Gishu County was allocated 362,000 bags against a demand of more than one million bags. Trans Nzoia was allocated 193,000 bags out of 400,000 bags needed by farmers in the region. Nandi County received 59,000 bags against a demand of about 200,000 bags of the subsidized fertilizer.

The government therefore cannot meet the demand for chemical fertilisers required by farmers to maximize and increase crop yields.

Curbing use of animal manure also means farmers will have to dump them and the product will go to waste.

As a farmer, I have witnessed the benefits of manure application in increasing my crop traditional vegetable yields by 40 per cent. One of the challenges in using farm yard manure is that it takes long to decompose thereby releasing nutrients slowly into the soil.

Research by government organizations such as KALRO have revealed that combining manure and synthetic fertilisers doubles maize and bean yields while the Kenya Institute of Public Policy and Research in its proposal dubbed Organic Farming Potential and Benefits in Kenya envisions organic farming as a game changer for the country’s agriculture.

By banning manure use, the government therefore contradicts itself as it tries to guide the promotion, development and regulation of food crops.

Let's say we pass the regulation against the use of manure, will the government of Kenya have enough lorries across Kenya to collect the waste and properly dispose it of? Or do they have a new technology, which we have not heard of, that can immediately collect cow dung once excreted in order to prevent it from being disposed of in farms?

One way I can think of is to have a common livestock toilet in each village then have the government collect animal manure every week. The Ministry of Agriculture may need to form a manure department to handle it headed by a Director in Charge of manure.

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: 05 April 2019; Hits: 6677

East African Malting to contract farmers in Laikipia, Kwale, Baringo, Taita Taveta and Bungoma to grow white sorghum

East African Malting is looking for farmers in Laikipia, Kwale, Baringo, Bungoma and Taita Taveta to grow white sorghum for its new brand beer, Senator Keg after research showed these regions have high potential for production as the crop thrives well in semi-arid areas.

This follows successful contract farming of farmers in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya and Migori counties.

The company which currently has 20,000 farmers is seeking to increase the number of farmers planting the crop to 45,000 over the next five years in a program dubbed “mtama ni mali” – sorghum is wealth.

In this, the company will increase farmers’ earnings from the current Sh2.2bn to Sh6bn over the next decade paying Sh30 per kilo of sorghum delivered.

In the 2019 season, the company expects to buy 14,000 tonnes of sorghum, 10,000 in the long rainy season beginning March and 4,000 in the short season rains set for September.

The plan is also set to reduce illicit brew consumption in Kenya from the current 50 per cent to less than 20 per cent over the next five years as more Kenyans will be encouraged to consume more branded safe beers.

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Fact sheet on how to grow the highly demanded sorghum crop

sorghum white nyeri

White sorghum at on display at the 2017 Nyeri Agricultural Show. Photo/file.

A research by East African Breweries in 2017 reveal that Kenya trails her neighbors in sorghum production due to use of uncertified seeds by farmers.

According to the research, Kenya produced 144,000 metric tonnes of sorghum in 2017 and imported 133,000 metric tonnes to curb the deficit while Ethiopia leads the region with over 280,000 tonnnes.

Uganda produced approximately 170,000 tonnes while Tanzania produced 155,000 tonnes.

In another survey based on a nationally representative sample in 2014, Tegemeo Institute estimated that only 15 percent of farmers were using improved sorghum seeds. In addition, cultivated land area under improved sorghum varieties was only 15 per cent.

East African Breweries Ltd requirements of an estimated 60,000 metric tonnes annually, expected to rise with a projected increase in beer consumption presents a tremendous market opportunity to farmers.

EABL can be reached on +254 711 018 000.

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