Posted on March, 27, 2017 at 10:59 am
Farmers in the South Rift and North Rift will soon get hybrid seeds that are resistant to the Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MLND), researchers have said.
The crossbreed seeds will be a major boost to maize farmers who had abandoned the crop for others following an outbreak of the disease three years ago.
In 2014, the disease ravaged parts of South Rift and North Rift which are considered to be the food basket of the country leading to losses amounting to more than Sh 800 million.
According to Dr Immaculate Maina, a director at the Njoro- based Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), experiments that will lead to production of the disease resistance seeds are at an advanced stage.
“Apart from advising farmers to undertake rotational farming, KALRO is also involved in further experiments to come up with the MLND resistant seeds,” said Dr Maina who spoke during a media workshop at Nakuru’s Waterbuck hotel on Thursday.
It brought together journalists from Meru, Nyeri and Nakuru who underwent a training on health and science reporting. KALRO advises crop rotation.
Source: Business Daily Africa