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: 26 July 2017; Hits: 6581

Kenyan Farmers to get connected to the World’s Largest Peer-to-Peer Farmer Knowledge Sharing Network

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WeFarm, the world’s largest farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing network, today announced that it has partnered with Heifer International, a nonprofit working to end hunger and poverty with sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurship, to bring the benefits of WeFarm’s service to farmers. WeFarm’s network operates both online and over SMS, ensuring maximum reach for offline communities.

The partnership which utilises latest mobile and machine learning technology to support farmer innovation will be targeting dairy farmers in Nakuru County, will utilize WeFarm’s technology to enable farmers to access and exchange timely and tailored information relating to farming challenges, best practices and crop and livestock diversification.

Mary Wanyutu, a livestock farmer and Heifer project participant from Nakuru, welcomed the innovation as a way of empowering farmers. “It is great because when I ask a question, the responses from other farmers on the network are fast and very informative,” said Ms Wanyutu.

READ ALSO: Nakuru hay farmer commended by UK

The farmers working with Heifer will be joining over 240,000 other farmers around the world who are already sharing vital information on WeFarm. The partnership will further enable Heifer to scale the impact and reach of their training and capability-building programs by expanding peer-to-peer support and providing regular SMS communication and insights into on the ground activities and key issues facing farmers.

Said Kenny Ewan, CEO of WeFarm, “This partnership with Heifer is very important to WeFarm. Our mutual belief in the value of peer-to-peer knowledge and shared commitment to creating sustainable initiatives for farmers through the latest technologies – are sure to produce great results. We look forward to working with the entire Heifer Kenya team”.

“Like anyone in business, the farmers Heifer works with need accurate, timely information that empowers them to make smart decisions about prices, markets, investments and other key factors that determine their prosperity,” said George Odhiambo, country director for Heifer in Kenya. “WeFarm provides access to this vital information and also connects the farmers to a global community that shares advice and other guidance that will help them thrive.”

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: 21 July 2017; Hits: 6753

Drying vegetables increases shelf life to over eight months

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Farmers at Kisii ASK show listening to an agribusiness expert demonstrating on vegetable solar drier. The drier makes vegetables lose moisture but retain their colour. Photo: Laban Robert.

The inclusion of a solar drier into production has increased the shelf-life of vegetables from two days to more than eight months, allowing Kisii County farmer, Jared Otundo, sell his vegetables for longer and faraway.

Otundo says drying the black night shade and spider flower vegetables has helped him reduce rotting losses to zero.

“I am able to supply vegetables to my customers wherever they are any time. Dry vegetables can last for more than eight months when the moisture is reduced to less than five per cent,” Otundo said during the 2017 Kisii Agricultural Society of Kenya.

Unlike fresh vegetables that require disposal within two days, he can hold on until when the market fetches more. During rainy seasons, the oversupply of the vegetables lead to low prices. This is his time of accumulating and drying the two varieties and stocking.

Black night shade, commonly called manage that fetches between Sh200 and Sh300 when wet earns Otundo up to Sh700 when dry.

His main market is Eldoret, Kisumu, Kericho, Nakuru, Garissa, among other towns where he has customers who make orders.

The solar equipment has a special chamber for blowing away moisture. The vegetables lose the moisture, but the colour remains the same.

After packaging and sealing in labeled polythene bags, the cargo is less bulky for transporting.

“The managu looks less in quantity when packaged. But after dipping it in some warm water before cooking makes it regain its original fresh size,” he said.

Direct drying in the sun discolourises the leaves, besides denaturing the vitamins and other components that give the vegetables their special taste and aroma.

Otundo relies on irrigation for production in his two acre farm at Nyankongo.

With such a plan, the farmer says, it is easy to have a constant supply to the market, and therefore, reducing shortages during dry seasons.

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: 10 July 2017; Hits: 10152

Low supply triples cabbage cost in Mombasa

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Red cabbage at Nyeri ASK Showground in 2016. Cabbage is earning three times more in Mombasa. Photo by Laban Robert.

Although the supply of vegetables has been regaining from an early year drop since April after the rains, coast region residents continue paying more than double the cost than inland consumers.

While a 126kg bag of cabbages is costing Sh1,200 in Nakuru, the same quantity is costing Sh4,100 in Mombasa, the biggest city in the coast region.

In Malindi, a town to the north of Mombasa, is paying Sh3,700 for the same quantity of cabbage on wholesale.

In Nairobi, one kilo of the cabbage is costing Sh12 while the same quantity is fetching Sh15 and Sh10 in Kisumu and Eldoret.

These being wholesale prices, consumers in the coastal strip are paying slightly higher prices for the same vegetables.

The interior towns are enjoying lower prices than those at the coast region because the latter do not have much land under cultivation. They rely on inter-county importation, and transportation and other charges increase the price of the goods.

Nakuru for instance, is one of the leading producers of agro-products in Kenya.

The prices of fresh produce, and indeed other farm products have been high since November last year when the drought set in ravaging crops in the fields.

The main planting season in Kenya is from January to March. Farmers without irrigation plans suffered until the end of March this year, when the rains resumed.

Maize still remains unavailable even after the government lifted import duty to ensure that enough is imported to fill the deficit.

Fresh milk, which hit a high of Sh65 per packet of half a litre, has dropped to between Sh50 and 55 depending on the brand.

Food shortage may persist this year with the rains remaining unreliable through the country. This will keep the prices still high and consumers paying more for the goods.

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