Yes, you can use drip irrigation to grow maize
George Otieno in his Eldoret farm where he grows a variety of crops under drip irrigation. PHOTO | BARNABAS BII |
What you need to know:
- An acre of maize produces an average of twenty 90kg bags going at Sh3,000 each or lower. The farmer, thus, earns about Sh75,000 after eight months but this depends on market forces.
- The returns from the investment, an average of Sh120,000 after four months, encouraged him to expand to other food crops and make maximum use of the land.
The farm is full of lush green crops that include tomatoes and maize.
Some of the tomato plants supported by manila strings tied on posts have grown up to two metres high and produce healthy fruits.
Adjacent to the tomato bed is a patch of healthy maize crop and another with sukuma wiki (collard green).
George Otieno, the owner of the farm located at Sukunanga, 3km from Eldoret Town, scouts the tomato farm checking for diseases.
“They have done well this season,” he says as he raises a bunch of tomatoes from the ground.
“I have to check them regularly because many of the fruits grow and touch the ground. If I leave them there, they will rot.”
Looking at the leafy crops, one wonders why they are doing well in an area where many farmers rely on rain that continues to be erratic.
DRY SPELL
Otieno’s secret lies in numerous plastic pipes he has installed on the half-acre farm that he has leased at Sh4,000 a year for an unlimited period.
He has set up a drip irrigation system that ensures his crops have regular supply of water.
He grows all the crops under the system, having started with tomatoes and vegetables.
His main focus currently, however, is on the maize crop, which he grows for fodder under the drip irrigation.
It is his latest venture and the University of Nairobi agriculture graduate is keen that farmers embrace the practice.
“I plant 2,500 maize seeds in four rows of less than 100 metres long under drip irrigation for silage. This fodder that is ready after four months is enough to feed 30 dairy cows before the next harvest,” says Otieno, who also runs an agricultural farm he calls Agri-Team Consultant based in Eldoret, through which he is working to popularise the practice.
RETURNS
The investment earns him an average of Sh160,000 per harvest.
An acre of maize produces an average of twenty 90kg bags going at Sh3,000 each or lower. The farmer, thus, earns about Sh75,000 after eight months but this depends on market forces.
“A farmer growing maize for fodder gets more money than one who waits to harvest the grain after eight months. Besides, his crop will not suffer from diseases like lethal necrosis.”
The system, according to Otieno, is the fastest way dairy farmers can use to grow maize fodder.
Otieno started growing crops under drip irrigation in 2010 after investing Sh200,000.
“I used the money to set up the drip irrigation system, and an additional Sh10,000 to purchase a pump that helps me draw water from the nearby Sosiani River for irrigation.”
He started with growing cabbages, sukuma wiki and tomatoes.
Around that time there was a dry spell and demand for the produce was high in the North Rift region.
The returns from the investment, an average of Sh120,000 after four months, encouraged him to expand to other food crops and make maximum use of the land.
“I normally monitor the market and plant depending on what is on demand. If I know tomatoes would be on demand, for instance, over the December holiday, that is what I will focus on three to four months before the time comes,” says Otieno, adding that constant supply of water makes it easier for him to grow food crops and fodder all-year round.
Drip irrigation, according to Otieno who quit government employment to run his agricultural firm, can last up to 10 years under proper management, cutting down on cost of production and enabling a farmer to earn more profits.
Through his firm, he works with farmers in counties in North Rift and Western to adopt drip irrigation to increase crop productivity.
He practises crop rotation on the farm to prevent diseases.
Lillian Jeptanui, a crop protection officer at Egerton University, says drip irrigation helps to curb soil erosion thus enabling crops to get necessary nutrients.
The irrigation further helps in prudent water usage.
For maize fodder grown under this method to be nutritious, Jeptanui notes, it has to get good amount of water for it to remain green.
“The green is maintained by keeping the soil wet. Such fodder is highly nutritious. This is a technique those growing commercial fodder or dairy farmers should adopt.”
Additional reporting by Rachel Kibui
