Even before the dust settles on the recent weather pattern that
was characterised by a prolonged dry spell followed by months of deluge
that washed away crops and left farms devastated, farmers are now
grappling with locust invasion, which is devouring their harvest.
It
gets complicated as neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda, where the country
gets the bulk of its food imports, are also battling the pests.
The
new threats add to the many existing ones, including traditional pests
and diseases, lack of inputs and tired soils that continue to take a
toll on food production.
The net impact of these
challenges is more pronounced now than ever before. Prices of foodstuffs
such as tomatoes are at an all-time high of three at Sh50, as a bulk of
households spend the lion’s share of their incomes on food.
Yet
demand for food continues to grow as the population rises, putting even
more pressure on producers. Amid this, agricultural land is shrinking,
which calls for innovative ways of optimising land by ensuring
production of more with less.
But farmers continue
farming from a point of no information, despite the mounting challenges.
A shortage of extension officers, who traditionally disseminated
information on good farming practices means that farmers are on their
own.
Today’s Seeds of Gold Farm Clinic in Eldoret remains a
pivotal initiative in bridging the information gap by bringing together
farmers, government officials and experts to interact, learn from each
other and exchange ideas.
At the event, farmers will
learn climate-smart farming techniques, among them water harvesting,
irrigation and investment in high-value crops that are drought-tolerant
and high-yielding.
BELOW GLOBAL AVERAGE
There will also be a display of superior pest and disease control products for both livestock and crops.
Studies
have pointed out a strong correlation between information access and
increased yields, with farmers who learn new farming practices and
acting on the information boosting their fortunes.
And
while Kenya is home to dozens of international research institutions and
scientists who have made cutting-edge breakthroughs, the disconnect has
been conspicuous in translating the wealth of information into action
points for farmers, who need it the most.
Bridgenet
Africa, one of the research think-tanks in the continent, argues that
less than 10 per cent of smallholders are beneficiaries of this
research, which continues to gather dust on the shelves.
With
Kenya having some of the most depleted soils in Africa owing to years
of nutrient overexploitation without replenishment, use of fertilisers
that is way below the global average, poor water harvesting methods and
farmers being stuck in age-old seed varieties that are taken from
previous harvests, agricultural productivity has continued to be low,
fanning the hunger cycle.
That is why gatherings such as the Seeds of Gold Farm
Clinic remain pivotal in knowledge transfer and are the easiest way to
reach the thousands of farmers spread across the country.
It is possible to lift our country to mid-level economic status, contribute to the global call of ending hunger in all its forms by 2030 and propel agriculture to be one of the biggest job creators in the country by adopting smart-farming technologies.
It is possible to lift our country to mid-level economic status, contribute to the global call of ending hunger in all its forms by 2030 and propel agriculture to be one of the biggest job creators in the country by adopting smart-farming technologies.
The power of information is at the heart of this transformation.
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