Plant Frenchbeans for export to use airport, Rift farmers told

Farmers in the North Rift have been asked to grow crops like French beans, tomatoes among other vegetables for the export market to reap the full benefits of the Eldoret International Airport.

The airport serves Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet and Trans-Nzoia counties, which are popular for wheat, maize and milk production.

County government officials, however, noted that they are set to change this trend by introducing French beans, which will see them export 60 tonnes of the produce every week.

Dr Cyril Cheruyiot, the Uasin Gishu County Executive for Agriculture, said the county will zero rate its loans to smalholder farmers in a bid to attract more young people into growing Frenchbeans.

Speaking at the opening of an agribusiness trade fair at the University of Eldoret, Dr Cheruyiot said that farmers can earn up to Sh20,000 a week from an acre by growing Frenchbeans.

“We are advising smallholder farmers to bulk and add value to their produce to enable them earn from farming,” he said.

The three-day agribusiness trade fair that started Thursday attracted more than 50 local and international exhibitors, who showcased latest farming technologies.

EMBRACE POTATO FARMING

They included potato planting and harvesting tractors and potato storage facilities capable of storing tubers for up to 12 months.

The farm machines from Holland, according to the dealers, are meant to ensure that potatoes are not damaged during harvesting and that quality is maintaining.

Potato stakeholders noted that there is a shortage of seeds fit for processing.

Roseanne Wanjiku, the Managing Director of Gaea Foods Ltd, a potato processing firm in Nairobi, said varieties such as Jerry and Markies developed by  Syngenta and Agrico are best for processing but there is a huge shortage, an indication that farmers are not planting them.

However, she noted that there are also varieties such as Musica and Challenger listed by the National Potato Council, which do very well with chips.

She asked farmers in the Rift Valley and central Kenya, the major potato growing zones, to seek the varieties as they produce double what others offer.

“The best varieties for chips can give eight to 16 tonnes per acre while the rest are giving about four tonnes. We must have a paradigm shift in potato farming,” said Wanjiku.