Agriculture stakeholders to hold a field day at Makutano B

Bob Aston

The Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Participatory Approaches for Integrated Development (PAFID), Kilimo Biashara Profilers, Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society, will hold a farmers field day on Conservation agriculture on August 4, 2015 at Peter Mwaniki’s farm in Makutano B near Sipili Catholic Church in Laikipia West Sub County.

Also expected at the field day will be various organizations that include; Pioneer Hi-Bred, Pure Circle Kenya Ltd, Bell Industries Ltd, Syngenta Kenya and International Small Group and Tree Planting Program (TIST).

The field day will provide farmers with an opportunity to learn about conservation agriculture and specifically its many benefits to smallholder farmers. The Laikipia Country Government is also keen on upscaling the adoption of conservation agriculture as a Climate Smart Agriculture technology that farmers can adopt to mitigate against the effects of climate change.

Farmers being taught about conservation agriculture during a field day organized by PAFID

Mr. James Kamau, Olmoran Ward Agriculture officer has urged the public to turn up in large number during the field day. He said farmers will be able to know how to combine profitable agricultural production with environmental concerns and sustainability.

According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, conservation agriculture is a concept of “resource-saving agricultural crop production that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels while concurrently conserving the environment”.

Farmers will also get an opportunity to learn about Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS). PICS is a viable management tool for preventing aflatoxin accumulation in storage. PICS also minimizes cost of storage as well as reducing post-harvest grain losses.

Farmer field days usually provides an avenue for farmers to interact, share information and learn best agricultural practices from each other. The field day will enable farmers to learn the difference between conservation and conventional agriculture.

Conservation agriculture holds tremendous potential for all sizes of farms and agro-ecological systems, but its adoption is perhaps most urgently required by smallholder farmers, especially those facing acute labour shortages.

On behalf of ALIN we would like to welcome members of the public to the farmer’s field day on conservation agriculture which will be held at Peter Mwaniki’s farm in Makutano B area near Sipili Catholic Church on August 4, 2015 from 10:00 am.