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 […]
Listen Did you know that a cow can produce up to 10 calves in a year or that you do not need to wait for 15 years to get a pedigree cow? With the use of embryo transfer (ET), a relatively new technology in Kenya, you can get your pedigree calf in nine months and […]
Listen Advances in biotechnology are giving farmers safer and better options for eliminating pests leading to higher yields. Have you been experiencing a consistent reduction in yields, despite dutifully preparing your land, using high quality seed, fertilisers and pesticides? Your crops wilt and yellow, have rotting roots and stunted growth, yet you have no idea […]
Listen For many years, prospective fish farmers in Nyandarua County have been grappling with breeding warm-water fish species faster in the cold region on the edge of the Great Rift Valley. On average, such warm-water fish require temperatures of between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius to breed and grow faster to earn farmers’ profits. […]
Listen Despite the rural electrification programme solar has emerged as the preferred low cost option for many dairy farmers. Some Sh12.4 billion worth of milk produced across the country in 2018 went to waste, according to the year’s Economic Survey. Blame for this atrocious wastage and subsequent financial losses has fallen mostly on poor handling […]