Posted on August, 27, 2019 at 10:23 am
By BY JESSICA NYABOKE
The Uasin Gishu government wants residents to grow different crops to improve their incomes.
It is carrying out a campaign to stop overreliance on maize farming. The county is already donating avocado, coffee and macadamia seedlings as it educates residents on the need for crop diversification.
County officials are moving from one village to another. They have distributed 850 avocado seedlings to farmers in Tembelio, Kapkei, Talget villages.
Over the past few years, maize farming, a decades-old practice among residents, has proved unprofitable, with prices of reducing and farmers getting inputs late.
Farmers have been agonising over the diminishing returns. Hence, the county says mixed cropping will be a shot in the arm for a region known to be the country's food basket.
Governor Jackson Mandago's administration is distributing the seedlings through the Department of Agriculture. It has been buoyed up by residents' willingness to adapt to the changing times.
Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno says county officers will be visiting farmers at their homes.
"We want everyone to practise diversification. It is our way to wealth. Very prominent persons in Kenya are already growing [different crops]. This tells us there is life in it," he said as he distributed avocado seedlings in Tembelio ward.
"We are getting you the seedlings because we would love all of us to join in the cultivation of such high-value crops. Our advantage is that Europe and Asia do not grow avocadoes as much because of their climates, but their demand is very high."
He added, "Our aim is to grow as much as possible so we can have the better muscle to export directly in coming years although there are companies already buying the fruit here in Kenya."
Chief Officer for Agriculture Julius Rotich said farmers will relish decades of high yield from an avocado tree.
"An avocado tree yields for up to 80 years. You can imagine eight decades of minimal supervision and money in plenty," he said.
"Avocado-maturing seasons interchange throughout the world and Kenya has the longest. We are going village to village because we are determined to make all of us get money through adoption of high-value crops."
Kenya's avocado maturing seasons start with the sowing rains in March and run through to early August — the longest in the world.
Source: The Star