Devastating scenes of flower workers disposing tens of thousands of blooms on a daily basis, empty grading halls and packhouses have come to symbolize the extent of the damage the Coronavirus has visited on the Kenya floriculture sector as global supply chains haemorrhage under the crisis. Europe where Kenya exports up to 75 per cent of its roses has recently become the epicenter of COVID-19 as new deaths and cases supersede those of China, the origin of the virus. New measures in this key source market including lockdowns, travel restrictions, flight cancellations and social distancing has seen the Kenya flower …

History was made last week when close to 500 delegates attended the first National Agriculture Summit in Nairobi, at which the Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET) was launched. ASNET is a multi-agency organisation that seeks to coordinate the industry transformation agenda. The 26-member steering committee that has been tasked to birth a strong foundation in the sector kicked off its action plans by coming up with the ‘Safari Park Declaration’, a 10-point summary of what must be done in the next 10 years if Kenya is to realise a complete transformation of the agriculture industry as a foundation for industrial development. …

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 …

Agriculture remained the country’s biggest employer last year, absorbing more than half of the working population and contributing the lion’s share to the national purse. However, the sector continued to grapple with high cost of production, disjointed markets, pests and diseases, paucity of capital and inadequate policy support from government, among other hiccups. Indeed, it was a tough year for farmers, with many grappling with spiralling cost of general inputs, especially pesticides, whose costs rose following the introduction of a 16 per cent value added tax. The high cost of farm chemicals has opened doors for the proliferation of cheaper …

As soils in Kenya move from poor to chronic conditions as a result of nutrient deficiency because of years of overuse, the impact on yields and food security is dire. In breadbasket regions, the dip in harvests has raised concerns as tens of thousands of farmers increasingly find themselves without income. Dwindling supplies of even basic produce like maize is a case in point. The situation is compounded by the dismal uptake of fertiliser, which farmers bet on to boost nutrients and spur growth as rains fail. More fertiliser application holds the key to enhancing agricultural productivity. The national average …

The unpredictability of the weather is taking a toll on planting and harvesting seasons and ultimately affecting yields. Moreover, competition for agricultural land from real estate and mineral exploration is reaching worrying proportions. The two developments call for the retooling of our farming approaches, with emphasis on land optimisation to ensure farmers get more yields from small pieces of land. The focus, therefore, should shift to new ways of producing food, which encompass soil rejuvenation techniques, embracing high-value seeds that can withstand harsh conditions and diseases and technology that ensures that we can comfortably produce all-year-round. As the population grows, …

The past years have been tough for smallholder farmers, with emerging pests and diseases becoming a big challenge. The voracious fall armyworm that attacks mainly maize and Tuta absoluta that hit the tomato crop nearly crippled the sector. Timely intervention especially by the use of pest control products saved the day. And in a region where farmers have to contend with incessant proliferation of pests and diseases, pesticide have always been the saving grace. It is, therefore, shattering that the government decided to introduce a 16 per cent value added tax on pest control products that were previously zero-rated. The …