Brief news on farming and agribusiness in the country

Brewer commercialises barley variety after successful trial

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has announced the commercialisation of the Aliciana barley variety a year after it was launched.

The firm said during an annual field day in Mau Narok this week that they have had successful trials with farmers who have reported higher yields and greater resistance to water logging.

David Kilesi, the chair of the Barley Growers Association of Kenya, praised the variety. “We have seen higher yields this season with the Aliciana variety compared to the previous ones. We would like to thank EABL for introducing this variety.”

Lawrence Maina, the general manager East African Malting (EAML), said they will offer farmers varieties with good yields to boost incomes.

“We are very happy that farmers in Narok have embraced the variety following our launch last year. It would not have been possible for us to commercialise it if it wasn’t for the success you have experienced,” Maina said.

EABL also launched the eight edition of the Barley Growing Handbook as part of enhancing farmers’ knowledge.

-Faustine Ngila

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Kenya to benefit from fast-cooking bean type

Kenya is among six countries in East Africa set to benefit from a new bean variety with a shorter cooking time.

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (Aciar) is also targeting Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Ethiopia. The project aims at improving the common bean varieties.

Scientists from the University of Western Australia and the East African National Agricultural Research Institutes will apply innovative methods to come up with the breed in the five-year project.

The new varieties will reduce cooking time in common beans by at least 30 per cent. Bean varieties in the EA region, according to the research, take between one and three hours to cook,” said the Aciar crops research manager, Dr Eric Huttner.

He added the project aims at creating higher protein and increased nutrients (iron and zinc) in the beans.

“We’re aiming at increasing iron content by 15 per cent and zinc by 10 per cent over current varieties.” Through the project, gender-inclusive training programmes will be conducted on the new breeding methodology and varieties.

-Pauline Kairu

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County, technology firms ink deal to help farmers

Siaya county government and several technology firms this week signed a partnership to assist small-scale farmers.

The two-year partnership that targets a million farmers will involve Acre Africa, M-Shamba, Precision Agriculture for Development and SunCulture.

With World Bank funding, the initiative will see farmers use digital solutions to increase productivity and profitability.

County communication director William Ochieng said the devolved unit will support the project through farmer mobilisation, training and operational expenses.

“The other partners will provide technical assistance to the county through their human resources and expertise in digital technologies," he said.

Acre Africa will link farmers to crop, livestock and index insurance products to shield them from unpredictable weather conditions leading to increased productivity.

Similarly, M-Shamba will deploy a digital extension platform that uses interactive voice response services to extend and transfer agricultural technologies to small-scale farmers and help them access market linkages.

-Dickens Wasonga