Improving Food Security Using Agroforestry Schemes
Agroforestry is an integrated system of trees and shrubs and/or crops and livestock within a managed agriculture area and has potential in improving food security in developing countries by fully utilising land, improving crop yields, diversifying farmer income and improving environmental sustainability. Last month the United National Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) published an “Advancing Agroforestry…
Parasitic Witchweed defeated in Kenya
Striga, a parasitic weed (also known as Witchweed,) has long been a problem in African nations; causing farmers to lose billions of dollars’ worth of crops annually. To make matters worse, the weed flourishes in conditions that characterise that of poor farming communities (small plots, mono-cropping, lack of oxen and natural manure and lack of…
How mobile technology could improve agriculture
Technological innovation is becoming increasingly important in agricultural development and productivity. The use of mobile ICT (information and communication technology) in agriculture provides a more efficient and cost-effective method for sharing and exchanging knowledge more widely. Farmers are benefiting as they can access key information such as pest and disease reports, weather conditions and market prices.…
Coffee Production in Hot Water- The Impacts of Climate Change on the Future of Coffee Crops
Coffee (Coffea) is the one of the world’s favourite drinks and the second most traded commodity after oil, accounting for annual retail value of US$ 90 billion. The two main species used in the production of coffee are Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica), which accounts for 70% of coffee production, and Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora). The…
Plantwise plant clinic at the Nairobi International Trade Fair
by Kimani Chege and Abigail Rumsey Plant clinics have been running in Kenya since 2010. There are currently 35 clinics throughout Kenya, to which farmers can bring their crops and receive a diagnosis of the pest or disease that is causing them problems. These clinics are organized and run by the Ministry of Agriculture extension…
Kenyan initiative aims to get more cash from cashews
A new initiative in Kenya is seeking to increase the profitability of the country’s declining cashew sector. The project aims to increase yields as well as improve the price the farmers get for their yield by replacing aging trees, educating farmers on crop management and improving access to markets. It is hoped that by 2015,…
New Research on Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease in Kenya
Update [March 2013]: More information about the pests and viruses associated with Maize Lethal Necrosis disease can be found on the Plantwise Knowledge Bank. The production of maize, Kenya’s staple food crop, is severely under threat from a fast spreading maize disease known as Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease. The disease is the result of…
MaryLucy’s diary – training plant doctors in Kenya
Yesterday, Mrs Rael Taiy, the District Agricultural Officer for Trans Nzoia East, told us that her and the extension team are very happy about the plant clinics as the initiative greatly complements their extension work. Farmers present their ‘sick’ plants and they are given solutions immediately by the plant doctors. This reduces pest incidence and…
Update from Kenyan plant doctors
MaryLucy from the Plantwise Knowledge Bank team, who is based in Kenya, has been visiting plant doctors in the Rift Valley to train them in data management. She has already had some very enthusiastic responses from plant doctors and agricultural officers who welcome the use of plant clinics in conjunction with the Knowledge Bank to…
Kenyan plant doctors respond to new data management
This week MaryLucy, a member of the Knowledge Bank team based in Nairobi, has been travelling across Kenya to meet some of our plant doctors and offer them data management training to help improve the support available to farmers. This training involves highlighting the importance of accurate data collection from farmers who attend Plantwise plant…