Farmers share experiences during Laikipia County agribusiness trade fairs

By Bob Aston

The Kenya Livestock Producers Association in collaboration with the Laikipia County Government held a two day agribusiness trade fairs on March 27-28, 2015 at Nyahururu stadium, Laikipia County. The trade fairs enabled many farmers across Laikipia County and beyond to share experiences as well as network.

The County government of Laikipia provided transport for some farmers across Laikipia County to attend the trade fairs. On their part the Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) organized for eight (8) members of Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society to exhibit their produce during the trade fairs.

An agriculture officer training farmers about conservation agriculture

Most farmers from Ol-Moran ward narrated their experiences during the trade fairs. They were able to interact and learn from more than 50 different exhibitors who showcased Dairy Products, E-dairy, rabbits, quails, bee Keeping, agro-chemicals and seeds, financial services products, Insurance Services, agricultural products, domestic tourism, mcommerce, biogas and bio-fuels demonstration, artificial insemination (AI), greenhouse farming and farm machinery and equipments.

Mr. Peter Mwangi noted that he managed to learn a lot about Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MLND) which affected his agricultural activities in 2014. He said that he spent most of the time at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Development exhibition stand inquiring from the officers about the disease and what he can do to ensure that 2015 does not turn up like 2014.

“The Ministry officials were very cooperative. I was given the entire process of how the disease can spread and the most effective ways of mitigating against the disease. I am now fully equipped to deal with MLND,” said Mwangi.

He said that he bought an incubator in 2014 but he has never benefited from it due to frequent power outages and other mechanical issues. This year he decided to visit all the stands that were dealing with poultry farming and especially the ones that were selling incubators.

Farmers being shown a new innovation

“I have been capacity built on how incubators work and what might be making my eggs not to hatch. I will now try and see if the new knowledge that I have gained will be of benefit to me,” said Mr. Mwangi.

On her part, Mrs. Veronica Kemunto who represented Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society during the exhibition noted that exhibiting had been an eye opener for them. She said that it served as a learning experience and as a cooperative they are now better informed and are aware about what farmers expect from them.

“Many farmers learned what we have been doing and we also learned from them. We have really been challenged and we expect to improve in our service delivery. We also managed to network with other likeminded organizations. The trade fairs really exposed us,” said Mrs. Kemunto.

Mr. Samuel Nyaga was particularly interested in learning about organic farming. He has been an organic farmer for quite some time and he was eager to enrich his knowledge in the subject so that he can improve his farming activities.

He noted that he left the agribusiness trade fairs as a happy man as he was able to network and meet other farmers who also share a passion in organic farming.

Farmers being trained on dairy farming

“This has been something that I am passionate about and I always attend such events to ensure that I am updated and also so that I can learn from others what they are doing. I am glad that I attended the trade fairs as I managed to learn a lot,” said Mr. Nyaga.

Similarly, Mrs. Margaret Mwangi recounted how she started dairy farming and how she used to experience low yields. She used to get as little as one litre of milk per cow. Last year she attended the event and sought out other dairy farmers and exhibitors. After carefully listening to what the exhibitors had told her she decided to apply what she had learned. Soon she started getting more than 10 litres of milk per dairy cow.

This year she was back at the agribusiness trade fairs. She again sought out different exhibitors and dairy farmers.

“I want to increase my milk production. I expect that the knowledge that I have gained this year will enable me to get more than 20 litres per cow. The trade fairs have been a blessing for us farmers. The knowledge that I have been acquiring have really empowered me,” she said.

The objectives of the trade fair included; to afford the regions farmers, service providers and industry suppliers a unique opportunity to showcase their products for benchmarking and trade, expose agricultural sector stakeholders (practitioners and suppliers) to new technologies and ideas for better efficiencies and quality, provide a platform for short seminars and demonstrations to small scale and large scale players in the sector, to showcase outstanding breeds for different livestock and to encourage farmers to invest in farming as a business.

Syngenta trains stockists and lead famers on tuta absoluta disease

By Bob Aston

Syngenta Kenya on March 27, 2015 trained 20 stockists and lead farmers on tuta absoluta disease also referred to as leaf miner at Coconut Hotel in Wiyumiririe, Laikipia East Sub County. The training was held to help the stockists and lead farmers to understand pests and diseases and particularly tuta absoluta.

Speaking during the training, Mr. Daniel Njoroge from Syngenta Kenya informed the stockists and lead farmers that they need to understand how the pests and diseases feed, when they feed, their growth stage, breeding cycle, life cycle and blood circulation as well as the correct dosage of insecticides.

Infected tomato leaves

He noted that tuta absoluta is a devastating pest affecting tomatoes and is considered to be a serious threat to tomato production. He said that the pest is easily found on tomato plants because it prefers the apical buds, flowers or new fruits where the black frass is visible. The pest which originated from South America is said to breed between 10-12 generations a year. Each female can lay 250-300 eggs in her life time.

“Stockists are and are still the first level of contact by farmers thus it is important to have enough knowledge about the pest so that you are able to advice farmers accordingly when they seek information about the pest,” said Mr. Njoroge.

He said that prevention and proper management of the pest is crucial thus farmers need to adopt an integrated pest management strategy to control the pest. He noted that the pest usually develop resistance to insecticides when used more than three times. The infestation of Tuta absoluta has also been reported on potato, watermelon and common beans.

There are 4 instars. Early instars are white or cream with a black head, later they turn pink or green. Fully grown larvae drop to the ground in a silken thread and pupate in soil.  Pupation takes place in soil on plant parts such as dried leaves and stems. Adult female lives 10-15 days while adult male lives between 6-7 days. Seventy (70) percent of its eggs are on the leaf.

He said that the larvae usually feeds voraciously upon tomato plants, producing large galleries in leaves, burrowing in stalks and consuming apical buds and green and ripe fruits.

Infected tomato fruit

“The pest usually affects both tomatoes in green houses and open fields. They are most destructive at larvae stage. Without proper care a farmer can experience 100 percent yield loss due to tuta absoluta,” said Mr. Njoroge.

Signs and symptoms include; puncture marks on the surface where the larvae has entered, abnormal shape, exit holes, rot due to secondary infective agents and frass produced at stem nodes where larvae have bored into the stem.

Control of tuta absoluta

Tuta absoluta has proved very challengin to control. Effectiveness of chemical control is limited due to insect's nature of damage as well as its rapid capability of development of insecticide resistant strains.

The use of biological factors is still largely under development and not ready to combat this pest effectively and in a cost effective way. Sex pheromone trap (TUTRACK) that has been developed by Kenya Biologics limited has been an effective tool for early detection of the pest.

Mass trapping and lure which contains pheromone has been found to be effective to control Tuta absoluta by attracting and trapping the male Tuta absoluta moth.

Tomato farmers are also advised to exercise hygiene in their farms to reduce the effect of tuta absoluta, uprooting and burning suspected crops and also avoiding throwing tomatoes remains near their farms.

According to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) the government of Kenya has put in place elaborate trapping program and pest management that includes: integrated pest management, use of traps, introduction of biological control agents and imposition of quarantine in affected areas.

Syngenta trains stockists and lead famers on agronomical practices

By Moses Ndungu

Syngenta Kenya on March 27, 2015 trained 20 stockists and lead farmers at Coconut Hotel in Wiyumiririe, Laikipia East Sub County. The training was held to discuss the role of stockists and lead farmers in realizing farming as a business. The training was also attended by Emily Kioko, Laikipia West Sub County Agriculture officer and Bob Aston from Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN).

The training was also held to discuss issues that included; role of stockists in sharing information on agriculture related activities, food insecurity, pests and diseases challenges, customer care services, improving family income and to form a network group.

James Kabuu from Syngenta addressing participants

Speaking during the training, Mr. Daniel Njoroge from Syngenta Kenya noted that stockists play an important role in the agriculture sector. He said that stockists need to be constantly updated about what they store in their agro-vets to ensure that farmers receive quality services and that they are appropriately advised on agricultural agronomics.

“Stockists are and are still the first level of contact by farmers. Most of the times you are the ones who always influence the usage of products hence it is important that you have enough knowledge about each product in your agro-vet,” said Mr. Njoroge.

He said that stockists need to understand pests and diseases by knowing how they feed, when they feed, their growth stage, breeding cycle, life cycle and blood circulation. He added that they also need to learn about correct dosage of each product that they stock and time for their application.

He informed the stockists that they should advice farmers on basic pillars for crop production. These included; understanding of soil health, soil moisture, nutrition, crop protection, marketing and value chain and seeds and varieties.

Participants following proceedings during the training

“Looking at pressure effects on population and food demands indicates that more food is needed to feed the growing population. Stockists will play a critical role in ensuring that food production in the country increases,” said Mr. Njoroge.

He said that Syngenta evaluation report that was carried out recently indicated that 5-6 million people in Kenya are small scale farmers and most of them are scattered in rural areas which are not easy to access.

Mrs. Emily Kioko, Laikipia West Sub County Agriculture officer informed the stockists and lead farmers that the Agricultural Sector Development Support Program (ASDSP) is currently implementing a maize concept note that seeks to formalize, legalize and train maize value chain groups on post harvest management in Laikipia County.
 She informed the lead farmers and stockists that ASDSP wants them to form one value chain group in the area so that they can also benefit during trainings on post harvest management.

Increasing hay production in Laikipia County

By Bob Aston

The inadequate and low quality livestock feeds, increased environmental degradation and limited alternative sources of income for smallholder livestock farmers in Laikipia West and East Sub Counties have been a cause for concern for many stakeholders in the Dairy Value Chain in Laikipia County.

In a bid to address these challenges, the Laikipia Dairy Development Group (LDDG) has partnered with the Agricultural Sector Development Support Program (ASDSP), Laikipia County Government, Laikipia County department of livestock production and veterinary department, to implement a concept note titled “Pasture production and commercialization in the Dairy Value Chain.”

The concept note seeks to ensure that there is a viable and equitable commercialization of dairy value chain particularly in Laikipia East and West Sub Counties. This will be by ensuring that there is an increase of the amount and quality of pasture produced in Laikipia East Sub County by 50 percent and increase in pasture conservation and storage by 30 percent.

Dairy cows feeding

Activities that are currently being undertaken include; formation and registration of 25 Value Chain Groups (VCGs), mobilization of VCGs to form an umbrella group for purposes of coordinating pasture markets and formalizing the umbrella group.

Others that will be undertaken include; identifying and recruiting trainers, training 25 VCGs on pasture production conservation and storage, conducting an educational tour for farmers, constructing four (4) pasture barns, sourcing for four (4) new pasture markets and linking 25 VCG’s to pasture markets.

Already a participatory approach has been used to identify the 25 VCGs. The VCG members will also be trained on group dynamics, pasture management and conservation and range rehabilitation. It is expected that by the end of this year 2,500 acres of land will be under pasture production while 750 farmers will benefit directly from the project.

The pasture produced will be used for feeding livestock in the Sub-County and also for sale within and outside Laikipia County. This will improve income of the groups and thus their economic status. The economically empowered groups will be able to contribute towards project sustainability. Successful implementation of the project is expected to contribute to improved livelihood of Laikipia community.

Laikipia County holds an agribusiness trade fairs

By Bob Aston

The Kenya Livestock Producers Association in collaboration with the Laikipia County Government, co-hosts Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), KCB Foundation, Agri Profocus, ACK Church, Isinya Feeds, Unga, FarmCare Ltd, Cooper K- Brands and Agricultural Industrial Network organized a two day agribusiness Trade fairs on March 27-28, 2015 at Nyahururu stadium, Nyahururu town, Laikipia County which was officially opened by Laikipia Governor Hon Joshua Irungu. The theme for the Agribusiness Trade fair was “Farming is big Business.”

Some of the exhibitors included; Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society, Kenya Seed Company Ltd, Equity Bank, Family Bank, Pionner Hi-Bred Ltd, Unga Farm Care Ltd, Amiran, Kenya National Domestic Biogas Programme, Bidco Dairy Feed, esoko, UAP, Soil Cares Ltd, Medina Chemicals Ltd. Nakuru Simba Machinery and Fabricators, Sonix Investments Ltd, Export Processing Zones in Kenya, Elgon Kenya Ltd, Kenya Women Microfinance Bank, Laikipia Leather Works, Avery East Africa Ltd, Kukuchick Ltd, Wisdom Innovations, Smart Farmers Federation, Tassols, Agri Irrigation and Borehole Ltd, Twiga Chemical Limited and Raka Milk Processors Ltd.

Farmers at one of the exhibition stands

 Speaking during the opening ceremony, Laikipia County Governor Hon Joshua Irungu said that the County Government is focusing more attention on livestock production by investing more resources in the sector.

He noted that they have started promoting hay production to ensure livestock get enough feed. He said that the county will disburse free hay seeds to farmers who are willing to grow hay.

“We have already bought three milk coolers worth Ksh 8 million for farmers. We are also trying to ensure that farmers are organized into groups so that we can assist them find market. This will also ensure that they enjoy economies of scale,” said Governor Irungu.

The objectives of the trade fair included; to afford the regions farmers, service providers and industry suppliers a unique opportunity to showcase their products for benchmarking and trade, expose agricultural sector stakeholders (practitioners and suppliers) to new technologies and ideas for better efficiencies and quality, provide a platform for short seminars and demonstrations to small scale and large scale players in the sector, to showcase outstanding breeds for different livestock and to encourage farmers to invest in farming as a business.

Governor Irungu at one of the exhibition stands

Governor Irungu urged farmers to invest more into water harvesting technologies instead of relying on rain fed water. This he said will ensure that they are able to harvest throughout the year. He urged farmers to diversify in order to enjoy better returns.

He noted that the Household Economic Empowerment Program will play a big role in improving the livelihood of farmers at the household level.

“The program will benefit farmers who are interested in poultry, dairy and rabbit farming. Farmers will also be taught about kitchen garden. We will soon donate incubators to two youth groups per ward in the county,” said Governor Irungu.

Some of the highlight of the two days Agri-business exhibition included ; Dairy Products,  E-dairy, rabbits, quails, bee Keeping, agro-chemicals and seeds, financial services products, Insurance Services, agricultural  products, domestic tourism, mcommerce, biogas and bio-fuels demonstration, artificial insemination (AI), greenhouse farming and farm machinery and equipments.

The trade fairs are monthly events organized by the Kenya Livestock Producers Association in various counties in the Country. Farmers and farmer groups are not charged for exhibiting during the trade fairs while entrance is free for members of the public.

The need for drought resistance crops in Laikipia

By Moses Ndung’u

Due to the erratic weather patterns and the unpredictable climatic extensions, many farmers have fallen prey to the faith of coming rain that is really unyielding, characterized by faint drizzles that border flora supportive rainfall, long spells of sunshine and the subsequent global warming effects.

The staple food of many Kenyans being maize products, that is, the cereals, many Kenyans have undertaken virtual mono-cropping, that is, maize and beans. These plants do very well in semi-arid area hence their popularity. Unfortunately for their climatic warm and cold adaptations, the situations is now soaring towards hot and dry, an adverse climatic order for the plants success.

Presently, due to the latter weather condition, many dams have dried and the few with a little hope are on the trend of drying. This is caused by several factors that obliviously couple to annihilate any source of water.

Cassava on display

These factors are the hot weather and the irrigation practiced by those near the water sources. Now what is the survival exit? With the pressing need for human basic needs, the tight ecological balance has been upset. The animals as well as the plants are affected. And this draws a huge circle of drag-ins.

To avert what is now a huge and yawning expectation of doom, it would be good if farmers considered other kind of farming to make the ends meet. This is provided for if drought resistant crops are put into consideration and the mono-cropping done away with or practiced on subsistence agenda.

These drought resistant crops include hay, millet, cassava, sweet potatoes and sorghum. Hay has good annual returns than maize and could compensate on food on financial grounds. Also, hay requires little workload and labour hence its eligibility for the drought fighting arena.

Millet is a crop that has rich nutritional value and does well in very dark times, it serves starch as well as maize does with an ounce better, it is cheap to undertake and highly marketable.

Matwiku groups benefiting from an incubator donated by TILT

By Bob Aston

Three self help groups (S.H.G) in Matwiku came up together early this year to form MUTI in order to benefit from an incubator from Tree Is Life Trust (TILT). Matwiku Horticulture Growers S.H.G, Umoja Upendo S.H.G and Tumaini S.H.G both had an interest in poultry farming.  Sixty (60) members of the three groups have been engaging in poultry farming in Matwiku area of Githiga Ward in Laikipia West.

The groups were informed by TILT that they can be supported to boost their chicken rearing projects if they decide to come together and form an umbrella group. After forming MUTI they were issued with an incubator by TILT on February 4, 2015.

The incubator which is worth Ksh 75,000 is capable of hatching 264 eggs. Hatching is in three (3) phases as each tray carries 88 eggs. The incubator also has a hatching tray that carries 88 eggs. The eggs take 21 days to hatch.

Mr. Gicheru checking the progress of the eggs

Peter Gicheru, MUTI Chairman noted that they had received the incubator at an opportune time as all the members had already prepared brooders and they were also ready to invest more in poultry farming.

HE said that they had agreed that group members will pay Ksh 60 for a day old chick while other farmers will pay ksh 80. He noted that they will lay a lot of emphasis on production of indigenous poultry as they are more tolerant to diseases which reduce veterinary costs.

“We expect that this project will not only improve the livelihood of members but that it will provide a good business opportunity for the three groups,” said Mr. Gicheru.

He said that the group has leased a building where they have placed the incubator. They are also paying for electricity and a caretaker who has to check the incubator every morning to ensure that nothing has gone wrong.

“We are expecting that we will soon be able to sustain ourselves through the project but this will be made very difficult by the frequent power outages experienced in Matwiku. There was a time when there was no electricity for three consecutive days,” said Mr. Gicheru.

Already some members of MUTI have been trained on handling incubators, hatching and brooding together with general poultry production by Eco Chicks.