By
Monica Njoki Thuo |
December 19th 2020 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
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Agriculture reforms will require proper funding to take root
Wednesday December 16 2020
Within 2020, quick wins have been made in several agriculture sub-sectors, while others are work in progress requiring more interventions to achieve intended results. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK
By GEORGE WACHIRA
Summary
Agricultural reforms started in 2020 will systematically enhance productive and marketing effectiveness in various crop sub-sectors, despite hardships along the way.
It is less than a year since Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya embarked on reforms to revive various agricultural sub-sectors which were either collapsed or in need of institutional and regulatory streamlining to improve value chain performance and enhance farmer expectations.
Research published in the journal Science Direct in April this year noted that the fall armyworm has led to the loss of a third of all maize produced in Kenya.
Elmi says that the facility which has been certified by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate (KEPHIS) can be used to quarantine insects for export as well.
As a start, KEFRI has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) to use the facility for study on this worm.
Due to its highly sensitive nature of the operation, the facility is an earmarked security area with elaborate security features. First, it is in an enclosed area with a heavy metallic door as the first entrance.
National breeding programs prepped to measure – and boost – genetic gains.
December 14, 2020
By adopting best practices and established modern tools, national agricultural research systems (NARS) are making data-driven decisions to boost genetic improvement. And they are measuring this progress through tracking and setting goals around “genetic gain.”
Genetic gain means improving seed varieties so that they have a better combination of genes that contribute to desired traits such as higher yields, drought resistance or improved nutrition. Or, more technically, genetic gain measures, “the expected or realized change in average breeding value of a population over at least one cycle of selection for a particular trait of index of traits,” according to the CGIAR Excellence in Breeding (EiB)’s breeding process assessment manual.
For many years Elda Mariam, a maize farmer from Nambale sub-county, Busia County has been harvesting a maximum of Seven bags in her one-acre parcel. This could however change with the introduction of Bt Maize variety in that locality.
“Maize farming has been a big loss to me. I incur a lot of expenses including the use of chemical sprays and fertilizer, but the yield has not been good,” says disheartened Mariam.
Mariam, however, confides that with the information she has received during Bt Maize’s sensitization meeting at Alupe in Busia, she hopes for better yields.
She told Africa Science News that with the introduction of Bt Maize technology, farmers in Busia county and western Kenya have a reason to smile for the beckoning fortunes after scientists/researchers availed the new variety in the region.