An Array Of Hope For Agriculture In Makueni County

Mr. Timothy Juma showcasing his harvest

Life in itself has its ways of equalizing things. You’ll find in every desert, there will always be an oasis that blooms with lush pastures, beautiful gardens of fresh plants growing with majestic stature, springs of clear water flow showing a total contrast to the vast undulating topography of gigantic sandridges neatly stretching to the horizon.

Some of the passion fruits in Nathan's farm

Some of the equipments purchased by USAID-KHCP project.

Eastern province is one of the driest places in Kenya. This has made the place not densely populated as compared to western part of Kenya or even Central Kenya which serve as the food basket for a nation that agriculture plays a crucial role in its economy. A lot has been done over the years to promote agriculture in this region with no long-term solution in sight until a couple of years ago when United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through a masterpiece project referred to as Kenya Horticultural Competitiveness Project (KHCP) that targeted sustainable agriculture to boost the food security status and the overall sustainable development overtime.

This project targeted various facets of agriculture which entailed value addition, incorporation of the best agricultural practices that ensure consistency of quality products and the overall market access for the products. This project targeted the whole value chain of agriculture to ensure that there is continuity.

In Makueni County in a small town known as Emali, we meet a 35year year old Mr. Timothy Peter Juma who attests that his vegetable farming especially ‘sukuma wiki’ as it is locally referred would not have reached where it is right not were it not to the concerted efforts of the local partners that work with USAID-KHCP. “I can now afford a smile as a farmer. Before I had a challenge of meeting the demand in the market for sukuma-wiki as it is one of the most consumed vegetable in the region. USAID-KHCP has taught me the best agricultural practices to embrace inorder to achieve the desired quality and volume that is tailored to meet the market expectations”, he said.

Through working with local partners USAID-KHCP has been able to roll out trainings to farmers to effectively embrace technologies that ensure quality production of agricultural commodities. John Wahome who is an agronomist of Syngenta EA ltd is quick to note that most farmers in the region embraced poor agricultural practices and thus they had to exhibit poor results. “Syngenta and KHCP has worked together to establish seedling nurseries that produce high quality crop varieties that when we train this farmers to plant in our centers of excellence ensures and they embrace, they ultimately get the desired quality standards and volumes”, he confidently utters.

Apart from teaching the good agricultural practices to the farmers, USAID-KHCP has managed to introduce value addition to the products that Makueni County produces. Through pumping millions of shillings to boost value addition aspect of the agricultural value chain, various equipments have been bought that are used dry the fresh produce, then mill it and finally, package it for sale to the local market to earn a coin or two to the various development groups in the county an example is Huruma Women Group in Kibwezi Town.

Huruma Women Group chairlady at therir shop

Despite the challenges faced by this county in regards to water availability, it is one of the counties that produces the best passion fruits in Kenya. In Nzaui Sub County, Kyemundu Location, Kalili Village, we meet Nathan Kivuva Kilili, a proud passion fruit farmer in the region. He attributes his success to the condusive environment that KHCP has accorded them to be able to farm passion in a place that is hostile to practicing agriculture. “Thanks to USAID-KHCP project, I’ve been able to be one of the recognized passion fruit growers in the region capable of producing close to around 80 kilos of passion weekly from his parcel of land which I sell at Kshs 100 per kilo fetching close to Kshs 8,000 weekly. They’ve also provided drip lines which I use to irrigate my quarter an acre parcel of land. This has saved me a lot of money”, the soft spoken man attests.

Nathan Kivuva a Proud passion fruit farmer

Those are some of the isolated cases of the milestone achievements of USAID-KHCP project. A lot has been done but still a lot needs to be done to ensure continuity of the already set infrastructure. Through working with development partners in the region, USAID-KHCP has been the agent of change in the region and thus as we seek to meet the economic limits that we set, all stakeholders have to embrace what this project has done to ensure we meet VISION 2030.

Genetics Technologies rescue mission for cassava.

World Population explosion that is expected to hit 8 billion by the end of year 2016 comes with dire consequences. To sustain it, properly structured food security parameters are required. Current food supply in most parts of the world cannot meet the growing demands.

Africa has had a lion share of the food crisis necessitating scientific intervention which lies in harnessing indigenous and orphan crops. This is what Genetics Technologies International Ltd; a privately owned Kenyan company is living up to. “We are sitting at a strategic position to link farmers to the best plant varieties; we specialize in Micro propagation of disease and pest-free planting materials through Tissue Culture and Aeroponics Technologies. Our annual production capacity is 20 million plants”, says Mr. Edward Mbugua, the officer in-charge of the facility.

A visit to ‘GTIL’ as the employees call it ushers you to the wonders of science. The lush potted flowers along the driveway, manicured lawns, vast shades provided by the canopy of indigenous trees strategically planted in the compound is enough to win a slot in the worlds scenic beauty magazine. Situated along Lower Kabete road, opposite Telekom building, 30minutes drive from Nairobi CBD; it boasts of having an ultra modern laboratory, “the biggest private tissue culture lab in east Africa region”, Mr. Edward confidently interjects.

“This laboratory has been tasked with the responsibility of mass multiplication of cassava varieties that are resistant to the devastating cassava viral diseases both Cassava Mosaic Virus (CMV) and Cassava Brown Streak Virus (CBSD)  that have threatened to wipe out cassava in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. These countries have been severely affected by cassava brown streak disease and cassava mosaic disease, have joined forces under the 5 CP project to help tackle the menace by sharing top five varieties with high tolerance to these diseases. The 25 varieties will then be evaluated in each country to identify those that are well adapted to the various growing regions and acceptable to the local communities. The first 19 tissue culture virus-tested plantlets, from those countries, were multiplied by GTIL and handed over in March 2014  to the lead  organization in the  5CP project International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI)”, Mr. Edward said.

 “Tissue culture lab is a very sensitive place where high level of sterility is required. Every visitor has to undergo thorough sanitization process and put on appropriate personal protective clothing to avoid contaminating the cultured plants. We tend to minimize the frequency of visitors entering and leaving the laboratory because, the moment we open and close the door, the air outside the lab is contaminated and may find its way in thereby exposing our cultured plants to the pathogens which  would render all our work useless”, says Ms Judith Kilonzo the Laboratory Manager.

Tissue refers to a collection of cells with similar characteristics. Tissue culture is therefore a process that involves multiplying the desired plant tissue in a specific regimen of nutrients, hormones and light, under sterile conditions (in-vitro) to produce new plants, over a very short period of time.  This method is known as micro-propagation.

Plants varieties that are used have to undergo cleaning, screening and diagnostic processes which is done by independent labs which verify if they are fit for multiplication. KEPHIS lab in Kenya and Natural Resources Institute lab in the UK help them in doing this.

The first stage which is referred to as initiation, involves the introduction of the explants to the tissue culture container. These containers have to be sterilized properly to avoid contamination. “We boil the media to kill pathogens inside, then put it in an autoclave before dispensing it for use”, says one of the employees. For cassava, internodes are used. They are carefully removed and gently placed inside the container that contains a gel called media under a lamina air flower cabinet to avoid any possible contamination “one technician avers. Coding is also done at this stage for traceability purpose.

Multiplication stage which is the second stage occurs after about two weeks after the initiation stage. It involves the transfer of the cultures to new containers and media as they have used up what was in the initial containers. Re-dividing the vitro plant and placing it in a medium with plant growth regulators which induce the proliferation of multiple shoots is done at this stage. It is repeated severally until the desired plant numbers is achieved. All this is done under a lamina air flow cabinet.

The third stage which is referred to as the rooting stage involves inducing root formation. Plantlets are taken to a growth room which has timers that regulate light. “Plants, like human beings require rest to enable them grow. We have automatic timers that regulate the time when they should wake up and sleep. This is essential for the development of the whole plant”, the technician notes.

The final stage involves removal of the plant clones from the culture containers and transplanted to acclimatize in an ambient environment after which they are transferred to the place of planting.

Mr. Edward noted that currently the cassava yield in the five countries is very low less than 10 tons per hectare but with the new varieties, the yield can go up to 20tons per hectare.  

Aeroponic Technology

Aeroponic process refers to growing plants suspended in a closed or semi-closed environment by spraying the plant's dangling roots and lower stem with an atomized nutrient-rich water solution. The canopy extends above the plant support system while roots are left below. Closed cell foam is compressed around the lower stem and inserted into an opening in a chamber which decreases labor and expense; for larger plants, trellising is used to suspend the weight of vegetation and fruit.

The advantage of this method is that the environment is kept free from pests and diseases so that the plants may grow healthier and more quickly as there is increased exposure to air around the roots. It reduces harvesting labor by half as the tubers are dangling and easy to pick.

Embracing scientific research is required to secure the starving population from the looming food security crisis. It is through innovations that we will be able to harness agriculture and make it more productive thereby improving development.

Tuta Absoluta a devastator to tomatoes

As the planting seasons begin, a series of activities that are geared towards good returns after harvesting accompany it. Farmer’s tirelessly work around the clock to ensure the chain of events involved are accomplished while putting precautionary measures to avoid losses.

 Expectations of a bumper harvest run high as time goes. Feeling of financial freedom hazes the air. Vagaries of nature at times give these expectations a detour by causing devastation to the crops some to a point of zero yields, ushering a cloud of frustrations to farmers who have invested a lot in the given venture.

 Tuta Absoluta for a long time now has wrecked havoc on the tomato production in most parts of the world. Kenya for the resent past hasn’t recorded it, but 2014 has tainted this record.

Being an emerging pest in Kenya, it was first reported in Isiolo in early 2014 but has managed to spread to most parts of the country. Meru, Nairobi, Njoro, Kakamega, Loitoktok, Lamu and Kakamega have recorded incidences of this pest infestation. “The nose diving production levels of tomatoes in Kenya and the frequent sea of complains from all the production baskets, necessitated an impromptu scientific intervention to help curb the surging threat levels posed by this pest”, said Dr Lusike, Deputy Director Kenya Agricultural Research Institute.

A series of emergency meetings that served as awareness campaigns had to be convened. K.A.R.I (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute) headquarters and Mr. Muthomi Ernest, the Technical Director KenGap Horticulture organized a symposium on 4^th July 2014, which saw over 400 delegate’s troop to the facility in an effort to curb the devastating effects of this pest. They included Farmers, Agricultural Extension Agents, Agrochemical Input Suppliers, Scientists, Government Agencies, Development Partners and Financial Institutions.

 “It is an adult moth that is mostly active at night when it lays eggs. Their larva is the most destructive stage of the pests’ life cycle lasting for 8-12days with four instars. The caterpillar burrows leaves indiscriminately on the middle tissue leaving a burning trail. It burrows the stems causing breakages. Fruits face the full wrath of caterpillars because they make tiny holes on them causing rotting”, explains The Chief Guest, Prof. Muni Muniappan, Director, Integrated Pest Management Innovation Lab, USA.

The warm temperatures around the tropics provide an ambient temperature for the pest to multiply fast and in large colonies. The destructive trail that these colonies leave has prompted intervention of key players in the tomato supply chain in an effort to mitigate these losses. “Since its detection in Spain in 2006, it has spread rapidly across Southern Europe and North Africa to engulf the whole of the Mediterranean countries. To date its presence has been reported in Italy, France, Malta, United Kingdom, Greece, Switzerland, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Albania during last two years.” He adds.

Various control mechanisms have been used on the pest but it has proved to be a hill climb. “Tuta possesses a very short life cycle of about 30-35days making it able to multiply very fast and its control an endless endeavor. 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”, elucidates Dr. Hassan Nayum of Russell IPM manufacturers and supplies.

Some of the control methods that have been developed by Russell IPM and proved to be effective are;

1.)    Pheromone traps to attract the males and thus leaving the females to lay unfertilized eggs which won’t hatch to larvae.

2.)    Sticky traps which are black in color that is effective in the control of both male and females.

3.)    Cultural Practices involves removing the damaged plant materials and burning them completely.

4.)    Crop rotation to help break the pest cycle.

5.)    Biological control by using bio-agents like egg parasitoids Trichogramma achaeae that prey on the eggs of Tuta absoluta.

Following the destructive effects of this pest and the economic toll that ‘Tuta’ has taken on the production of tomatoes. Farmers around the globe have to brave the effects for some time before an ultimate solution is found. This will be farfetched if the current situation stands as it is.

                                                                                                                                    

Explore the wonder of plants at HTA National Plant Show

THEALE, UK: Horticulturalist, landscaper and broadcaster, Chris Collins, will look at the importance of engaging people with the wonder of plants during his seminar at the HTA National Plant Show on Tuesday 24 June at 10am.
As the resident Blue Peter gardener for 9 years, Chris has plenty of experience of engaging young people in gardening both on-screen and through various community and school gardening projects. Chris will use his experiences to provide inspiration about ways in which to get the next generation interested in plants.
The Seminar Area, sponsored by Barclaycard, will host three diverse presentations over the course of the Show which focus on a theme of adapting to challenges and change. Other speakers include Garden Industry Marketing Board Project Manager David Arnold, and sales and negotiation expert Steve Jones from ReSharpen. The HTA National Plant Show, sponsored by Hortipak,takes place at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry on 24 and 25 June 2014 and will be celebrating its fifth birthday this year!
Organised by the trade for the trade, the Show provides visitors with the opportunity to see thousands of plant varieties from over 100 UK growers all under one roof. With its back to basics approach to exhibiting, the Show focuses purely on plants at the best time of the year for visitors to plan their ranges for the following season.
Exhibitors already signed up include: Armlee Nurseries, Blue Ribbon Plants, Colourpacks Nursery, Dorset Plant Company, Farplants Sales, Hilliar Nurseries, Lovania Nurseries, Skylark Nurseries and Wyevale Nurseries

Ecuador roses to steal the show at Amsterdam’s Open Garden Days

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands: This weekend, visitors of Amsterdam’s annual Open Garden Days (June 20-22) will be treated to sumptuous and dazzlingly colourful displays of Ecuador roses.
The Amsterdam Open Gardens Day is a weekend in which more than 25 palaces and museums in the centre of Amsterdam open their gardens to the public. The roses will be displayed in a wide variety of colours and shapes, since Ecuador grows more than 300 varieties of roses, which are known especially by length of the stems (sometimes more than 1 meter), and the size of the bloom (probably the largest in the world), and the bright and beautiful colours of their petals.
These roses are grown on the Andes Mountains at 3,000 meters high, which is part of the secret of the beauty. This industry in Ecuador generates more than 120.000 jobs. In 2012, Ecuador exported for a total amount of 766 million USD dollars’ worth of fresh cut flowers.
The Institute for Export Promotion of Ecuador, PROECUADOR, with its Commercial Office in Rotterdam, Netherlands, coordinated the shipment from the Ecuadorian farms Naranjo Roses, Floreloy, Valdesol and Joygardens which donated these flowers.
Pictured are Ecuadorian roses exhibited at the Van Loon museum (Photo credits: C. Toala).

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