Western farmers to get support to improve soil fertility

• The money will be used to train extension workers and agro-dealers

Farmers from Western province are set to benefit from financial support given to the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, which will be used to help farmers apply lime on their acidic soils to boost crop production.

Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has given the institute Sh25 million for a project running that will run for three years in the area.

The money will be used to train extension workers and agro-dealers, purchase vehicles and buy lime for sale at subsidised prices at Kakamega Kari Centre and Moi University work with others.

According KARI Centre director, Dr Francis Muyekho, AGRA’s funding is welcome as it will help farmers reduce the PH (measure of acidity or alkalinity of soil) of the soil to increase production.

“In the region, most of the soils are acidic due to leaching, atmospheric pollution and application of nitrogenous fertilizers that have broken down to form nitric and sulphuric acids,” he added.

The project which will run in Kakamega North and Siaya Districts will benefit 50,000 farmers.

AGRA was started by former United Nations Secretary General, Koffi Annan, about 10 years ago, to teach farmers new farming methods to end endemic food shortages.

Equity Bank will finance the farmers to the buy lime at low interest rates, at a subsidised price from KARI appointed dealers.

For a 50 kilogramme bag, agricultural lime will cost the farmer Sh4000 for application on a 2 acre piece of land. The lime will remain effective in the soil for three years.

Crop varieties

Last year AGRA’s president, Namanga Ngosi, visited Western province and was impressed with efforts being made by Kakamega KARI Centre to develop new food crop varieties.

In spite of its good rains and soils, the province suffers from an acute shortage of food and relies on neighbouring districts to feed its population of over three million people.

The region’s food shortage is blamed on poor farming methods, high acidity content in soil due to mono-culture farming methods and lack of an entrepreneurship culture to treat farming as a business.

Dr Muyekho said KARI will teach farmers how to apply lime on their farms.

“The correct PH is essential for efficient use of artificial fertilizers. Application of lime alone will not increase crop yield unless farmers continue using fertlisers and farming techniques,” he said.

Calcium imparts stability to the soil result in better water absorption and retention, and improved micro-climate of soil with more air spaces.

Acidic soils

Trials done by KARI at Kabras in Malava constituency in North Kakamega District have shown crop yields increase when lime is applied to acidic soils.

Mr David Mbakaya, an officer in charge of the programme, said farmers who were taught how to apply lime on their farms have realised an increase per acre at 15 to 20 bags of maize compared to low harvests in the past.

He added that the initial Kakamega-Siaya project will involve 40 trained extension workers to teach 50,000 farmers how to apply lime and other agricultural inputs to boost maize production.