Why I ditched maize for barley

The green field at Soy along the Eldoret-Kitale Road normally catches the attention of many travellers because from far, it resembles a golf course.
There are many farms along the road that resemble it but it standouts because it is greener and expansive.

Named Komool, the extensive farm has acres of barley, wheat and maize plants that sway in-sync with the afternoon breeze.
Barley occupies the bulk of the 1,000-acre farm.

Owner George Kili is one of the biggest farmers in the region. He has embraced barley as he slowly ditches maize and wheat as the former has more earnings. A 100kg bag of barley in the market fetches Sh3,500.

“I am dropping maize and wheat because it does not make economic sense to grow them. A lot of imports have flooded the market pushing down prices,” says Kili.

He switched to barley in May last year after securing a contract with East Africa Maltings Ltd, a subsidiary of East African Breweries Ltd.
Persistent attacks on the two crops by lethal necrosis and stem rust gave him yet another reason to start growing barley.

ACREAGE UNDER MAIZE

Kili planted 350 acres of barley last year but he increased it to 600 this season as he cut the acreage on maize and wheat. Maize now occupies 150 acres and wheat 250, says Kili, noting he will completely do away with the two crops.

To plant barley, Kili begins by tilling the land. He uses the vertical tillage method. A special farm implement does three things at ago. It cuts deep into the soils, slices across the farm and picks up the weeds to allow aeration and water infiltration. The special implement comes with a disc, tines and picker attachments.

“We do the vertical tilling and also chisel plough and finish with light harrowing to ensure there is minimal soil disturbance to conserve moisture,” says Felix and Rodney Kili, who help their father manage the farm. The two aged 23 and 21 are pursuing agriculture-related courses.

Rodney is a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture student at University of Eldoret while Felix is studying Bachelor of Science, Agricultural Engineering at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. 

Once tilling is completed, planting starts but only after the barley seeds have been graded using a machine that sorts out good from bad ones.
“This helps us to attain over 95 per cent germination of seeds and control pests and fungal infections in the soil because there are some poor seeds which can host them,” explains Rodney.

After grading the seeds, they dress them. Seed dressing involves mixing the seeds with fungicides and herbicides using a machine.

“It helps to prevent the deadly worms in the soil from feeding on the seeds, which may prevent them from shooting off the ground,” says Felix.
Kili uses a tractor to plant and spray the crop as it grows.

Barley takes 16 weeks (four months) to mature, unlike wheat which is ready for the market in five months.

“What makes barley lucrative and different from wheat or maize is its tillering ability. Tillers are tiny shoots that sprout out resulting into seed heads, thus, more yields.”

On one acre of barley, a farmer can harvest up to 30 100kg bags because of tillering while the same acreage will yield 20 bags of wheat, says Kili.
He explains that it is important to conduct a soil analysis before planting to determine what the soil lacks or possible diseases.

“We do soil testing annually. Most farmers fear that it is costly but you will reap good returns because of the simple exercise.”
Barley is susceptible to diseases and weeds, thus, thorough spraying using herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and foliar chemicals must be carried out on the farm to prevent them from growing and competing with the crop.

First spraying is done three weeks after planting the crop. “We spray with herbicides to control weeds which may compete with the young plants. As soon as tillering starts, we do top-dressing with urea.”

FINAL SPRAYING
The second spray that involves fungicides and insecticides is done at week eight to 10 when the plant has formed the head. Final spraying is done at four months when the crops have started forming the heads.

This is a critical stage, thus, Kili uses foliar chemicals to boast growth of the plants and yields.

“The three stages are important but some farmers do one or two only. We do three to improve yields and fight pests and diseases.  A week before planting, we spray the land to kill stubborn weeds but this is optional.”

Stem and leaf rust are some of the notorious diseases which one must keep an eye on.

The farmer, who grows Fanaka and Quench varieties of barley, also pays attention on storage of the cereals. He has built several silos to store the grains.
“Once the cereals are offloaded from a truck used during harvesting, they are dried and stored in the silos.”

The cereals pass through a cleaner with special sieves of different sizes, which separates the grain from the husks. The same applies to wheat. Later, they are dried using a machine.

Kili uses the husks as fodder for his 30 dairy cows and several dorper sheep.
“The moisture in the grains should be between 12 and 14 per cent. This prevents the seeds from germinating or developing moulds that causes aflatoxin.”

READY MARKET

Prof Julius Ochuodho, a Seed Science and Plant Pathologist at University of Eldoret, says ready market for barley is luring many farmers in Uasin Gishu and neighbouring counties to the crop.

“The reason why farmers are growing barley is because maize and wheat don’t have standard prices. With barley, there is sure market in breweries where one plants the crop on contract after negotiating the price,” adds the expert who doubles up as coordinator of the barley crop research at the institution.

Kili notes that excessive importation of wheat and maize into the country is making farmers get discouraged from cultivating the crops.

“The government must think of how to protect farmers because they are suffering. The cost of production of maize is not less than Sh2,400 per 90kg bag yet farmers sell as low as Sh1,600 each.”

The government, through the National Produce Cereal Board, was last December buying a 90kg bag of maize at Sh2,200 while wheat went for Sh2,800 in the market.
“The Ministry of Agriculture should rethink some of its policies that are seriously hurting local farmers. Those low prices and excessive imports can be stopped if the government wants,” says Kili, who after harvesting wheat and maize, he shreds the straws and stalks and sprays them on the farm to improve soil fertility.