Smart farms

: 05 April 2022; Hits: 8145

Waterpans helps farmers weather dry spells

Farmers are constructing water pans to harvest water ensuring they have year round supply at a time when vagaries of weather have disrupted planting and harvesting seasons, taking a toll on yield and fanning the hunger cycle in Kenya.

Kenya is one of the countries in the African continent identified by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to be a water scarce country, as its renewable freshwater sources supply 647 cubic meters of water per capita per annum. But for farmers in Naivasha water reservoir that stores the flood water collected during the short and long rain seasons have assured them of guaranteed water supply throughout the year. "With water you are not limited to the time, and you can plant whatever crop you want to grow," said Florence Muthoni, who owns a waterpan in the semi-arid area of Maela.

Construction of the waterpan in 2011 has enabled her manage a greenhouse, which raises her income that she uses to feed her family and educate her children. "I grow watermelons in the greenhouse but this could not be possible without the waterpan because this area is usually dry. The water that is available is only bought from the boreholes," Muthoni said. She grows the watermelons in the green house six times a year, with an average profit of 1,264 dollars in each season. "This is enough to pay school fees for my two children in college and afford adequate balanced food for them," she said.

"Before, it was tough, in the dry season like January, you could not get even vegetables in the farm. We could sleep hungry." Another farmer, Zainabu Malicha, is also benefitting from the establishment of the water storage system, which she said has greatly boosted her agribusiness activities. Malicha, a mother of five children, has two greenhouses where she grows tomatoes that she supplies to wholesale traders. "Tomatoes require a lot of water, which would be extremely expensive for me if I got a supply from the boreholes," she said.

Although she started with one greenhouse, the good returns she made from the sale of highly marketable tomatoes enabled her put up a second greenhouse, thus increasing her total earnings. "I have realized that having a waterpan in your homestead is the best way to remain productive throughout the year," she said. The two are among the 286 farmers in the region benefitting from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) program of improving the livelihoods of households living in the dry areas. According to Muthoni, the organization has established 50 waterpans for the farmers at a cost of more than Sh20million.

The farmers share the water to irrigate their pieces of land under vegetables, potatoes, maize and beans among other crops. A waterpan, as explained by Alfred Mugalo, a technician in the water storage system, can be established in an area where water can easily be diverted. "It can be near the river or at the edge of a slope as long the water can easily be directed to the waterpan," said Mugalo. To put up the water reservoir, Mugalo said, mainly requires a dam liner sold at Sh45 a square meter. "A farmer digs the hole with the guidance of a specialist, then a technician uses a welding machine to laid down the dam liner to cover the hole," he explained.

Putting more land under irrigation to promote food production in the East African nation is an objective under the Economic Stimulus Program that the government aims to achieve through the involvement of all stakeholders including the non-state actors.

Kenya has a total land area of 58.26 million hectares, out of which only 11.65 million hectares receive medium to high rainfall, according to the National Irrigation Board. Out of the 11.65 million hectares, only 7 million hectares is used for agricultural production, an indication of less land usage for production of enough food to feed a growing population estimated to hit 70 million in 2030. "Helping communities embrace techniques that they can use to access a reliable source of food is very important in eliminating hunger among the households," said Daniel Koros, the WWF Naivasha Project Technical Officer.

He said households in water stressed regions face hunger and live in poverty due to lack of surplus food for sale to sustain their families. "It is therefore necessary that farmers like those in Naivasha have waterpans where huge amounts of water can be stored for use in the farms for as many as four months," he noted.

However, construction of a waterpans is expensive, which many of the small-scale farmers would not afford without financial assistance from the micro-finance institutions, state organizations or the nongovernmental organizations. "It is costly to construct a waterpan considering the cost of the dam liner which goes for more than Sh45 a square meter. It requires adequate funding which farmers can get from various sources including the government agencies and banks," said Koros.

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: 05 April 2022; Hits: 2739

Bomet farmer finds value in low cost zero-grazing

A smallholder dairy farmer in Bomet is inspiring fellow farmers to embrace low cost zero grazing to increase milk production and tame disease spread, at a time when limited pasture has seen most farmers graze their animals outside.

Scenes of cows and goats grazing in paths and roads especially in rural areas are common place. This has been occasioned by dwindling pasture that has either forced farmers to sell off some of their cows, or let them scavenge looking for pasture. And therein lies the problem. Scientists say cows that are let to move around have been noted to produce less milk than those that are fed are confined. Again the scavenging cows have been identified as the biggest carriers of diseases and pests.

Rose Chepkwony a farmer in Bomet county was in a similar situation. Her small farm could not take care of her three cows and so she decided to let them scavenge for pasture. But the milk output was dismal and she was always spending money on treating them. Her light bulb moment when she attended a farmer training programme and was advised on how to create a low cost zero grazing unit which would ensure that the cows enjoyed equal feeds which would in turn boost their milk production. Two years she boasts of 14 cows and five calves with an Ayshire cow that used to give her 12 litres of milk now giving her 28 litres. “I had really become frustrated since milk was my only source of income and that is what I used to rely on to feed my family and pay my children's school fees. Now in my small quarter of an acre piece of land, I am earning more than I can imagine,” Rose said.

After training she sourced for locally available materials like eucalyptus tree to construct the roof while the timber was used to construct the feeding trough. She started with a structure that accommodated three cows and only expanded whenever she got a new cow. The only major expense was buying cement and iron sheets. “Seeing the difference that this made and how relaxed my cows were which increased their milk production, I decided to increase the size of my herd,” sh said.

That took two loans and bought to high value cows.

“But just having a nice structure doesnt increase milk production. Good feeding mechanisms count aloy,” Rose said.

She has perfected the art of feeding her cows with all the nutrients while insulating herself from the skyrocketing conventional feed prices. She makes and mixes various animal foods that she grows or sources locally like fishmeal and legumes. Not far from where she lives she has rented half-an-acre land where grows wonder shrubs like Lucerne and desmodium.

Five of her cows are milked, which earns her on average Sh100,000 every month by selling her milk to processors and local hotels.

She has become a model farmer with smallholder farmers coming from far and wide to learn about fodder management and zero grazing. “The biggest problem for smallholder dairy farmers currently is the feeds. With rains having failed and prices of feeds going astronomically high, farmers have to innovate if they are to survive. I welcome them to come see how I have,” Rose said.

For more information contacts below:

Contact: Rose Chepkwony

Number: 0723037754.

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: 05 April 2022; Hits: 2908

How to use weeds as a guide on crops to plant

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Weeds tell farmers the kind of soils they have and crops to grow on them

Farmers can easily tell the type of soils in their farms by simply observing the type of weeds that grow in it.

This is a cost -free and accurate method of soil sampling that can save farmers from hefty laboratory test costs, while still allowing them to determine the kinds of crops to grow.

According to several studies conducted by reputable farming agencies including the Garderner and ICRAF, weeds indicate the acidity or alkalinity of soils hence making it easier for a farmer to identify the kinds of crops that can be grown on them. Weeds can also give a hint on soil fertility, soil drainage and moisture levels in the soils.

A study conducted by Diana Barker, a soil sampling expert and published in the Gardener, shows that most prevalent types of weeds that grow in an area for a long time, tell the soil composition with an accuracy of 8 out of 10. The study, for instance, reveals that the Dandelion and Common Mullein weeds both indicate an acidic soil, but Common Mullein can also mean a low fertility soil. So, if you see the weed growing alone, it could mean a number of things, but when it grows along dandelions, this is a likely indication of an acidic soil.

The researcher also advices farmers to pay attention to the health of the weed while studying their soils. For example, a healthy stand of clover weed can be an indication of nitrogen deficiency in soil, while the same weed will grow in soil that had sufficient nitrogen, but will appear much less vigorous. The study, however, explains that some weeds like Purple Nettle and Shepherd’s purse can grow in most soil types and so are not reliable indicators.

Soils with a PH value of below 7 are deemed acidic. According to the study, weeds like Eastern Bracken, English Daisy, Ox-eye Daisy, Hawk Weed, Pineapple Weed, Wild Strawberries, Mayweed, Dandelion, Knapweeds, Pinks, plantains and Wild Radish are an indication of acidic soils. This means that if a farmer spots any of these weeds he can plant crops that do well in acidic soils including blueberries, endive, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, rhubarb, potatoes, shallots, sweet potatoes, and watermelons. In case the soils have high acid levels, the researcher recommends the addition of wood ash.

Those with a PH value above the neutral 7 are alkaline in nature hence support crops like beets, lettuce, muskmelons, onions, and spinach. The kinds of common weeds likely to grow in alkaline soils, according to the study, include Black Henbane, Nodding Thistle, Goosefoot, Wild Carrot, Field Peppergrass, White Mustard, Bladder Campion and Bellflower. To lower high alkalinity in soils, the expert explains that Sulfur can be added to the soils.

Fertile soils according to the research have a PH value ranging from 6.2 to 7. This, therefore, means that when weeds like Burdock, Butter Print, Fat Hen, Pokeweed, Pigweed, Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) and Chickweed (Stellaria media) are spotted on a farm, soils there are fertile and a good for growing maize, lettuce, melons, peppers, squash, and tomatoes. Consequently, when weeds like Dog fennel, Biennial Wormwood, Broom sedge, Wild Radish, Sheep Sorrel and Yellow Toadflax grow in an area, this can can be an indication of poor or depleted soil. Beans, beets, carrots, legumes, parsnips, peas, radishes, sage, and thyme have tendency to tolerate poor soil conditions.

Weeds like Ox-Eye, Docks, , Goldenrods, Groundnut, Poison Hemlock, Horsetail, Jewelweed, Joe-pye weed, Lady’s thumb, Marsh Mallow, May apple, Meadow pink ,Meadow Sweet, Mosses,Stinging Nettles,Pennsylvania smartweed, Ragwort, Tansy, Sheep sorrel, Silvery cinquefoil, Sweet flag and Tall buttercup grow in wet soils while Arrow-leafed Wild, Field Bindweed, White Cockle, Cornflower, Dog Fennel, Goldenrods, Maltese Thistle, Sandbur, Small Nettle, and Yellow Toadflax grow in sand soils.

The observation of weeds as means to determine soil type is good news to millions of farmers across the world who cannot afford the high costs attached to professional soil sampling. It is expected to go a long way helping farmers identify suitable crops to grow in their farms especially at a time when a lack of key farming knowledge is blamed for poor produce, especially by small holder farmers who make up to 70 per cent of farmers in the world, according to a 2013 FAO report.

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