Listen Agaricus Bitorquis has a longer shelf life and is recommended for small scale farming because it is less vulnerable to diseases and is sweeter and high quality. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology has developed a mushroom variety suited for warm weather, opening a new revenue stream for farmers. The button type is […]
Listen Persistent seed shortage has continued to affect potato production. It is for this reason that the Agricultural Development Corporation is developing new methods to grow potatoes in the country. The corporation has strategically narrowed down to focus on its strength and available opportunities, under the ADC Seed Potato Complex that comprises of two farms, […]
Listen Up to 400 families are benefiting from an initiative supported by the African Development Bank to allow all-year crop farming in Mosiro. To get to Mosiro from Nairobi, the easiest route is to take the escarpment road to Naivasha. At Mai Mahiu, you turn left towards Narok and drive until Ntulele market. Here you […]
Listen Farmers and entrepreneurs have come up with novel ways to make money out of produce that would otherwise be left to rot for lack of storage space. With up to 30 to 40 per cent of farm produce going to waste after harvest, efforts to prevent these losses are being stepped up. Farmers are […]
Listen Smallholder farmers in the Rift Valley and Western Kenya have seen their yields grow by up to 60 percent thanks to precision farming techniques. Dubbed precision farming, or micro-dosing, the process involves the application of small, affordable quantities of fertilizer with the seed at the time of planting or as a top dressing 3 […]
Listen The perception of county as a vast wasteland hostile to crop farming is changing thanks to tried-and-tested drip irrigation used in Israel’s Negev desert. Mention Turkana County and what spring to mind are images of a vast barren land where the only surviving vegetation is the drought-tolerant acacia trees. Many would consider it crazy […]
Listen Just like people can access Uber taxis via cellphones at affordable rates, a local firm has developed a mobile app for farmers to request for tractors to plough their land. In Nairobi and other towns in Kenya, a new trend is catching on – the Uber phenomenon. Many people who had never used taxis […]
Listen Infra-Red (IR) spectroscopy is routinely used to analyse soil samples and determine their suitability for different crops. BLGG Kenya Ltd was established as an IR-spectroscopy laboratory in October 2011 and features the latest technology in soil and compost analysis. The company, which is a branch of the BLGG group that has agricultural laboratories all […]
Listen Cheaper manual technologies are making it possible to grow fruits and vegetables in places previously seen as unsuitable for these farmers, who must only operate in months when rain is available. This pattern compromises food security for their families and livestock. “Availability of food, especially vegetables, is a challenge from December to March and […]
Listen It is a lab in a container that uses solar energy and grows a large amount of seedlings, 25 per cent faster. It tests soil and seeds for disease and acts as a weather station Recently, about 100 farmers gathered around a container in a small town in the North Rift, to witness the […]