Farming

Following the ban on GMOs by the Government there has been mixed reactions across the country. This has led to different opinions from stakeholders, experts and farmers in the agricultural value chain.​ On today's podcast to discuss this we have Dr. Francis Nangayo, Senior Manager and Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs Coordinator at AATF Compact together with Adams Amenya who is the Commercial Director at Sistema Bio Kenya.

Following the ban on GMOs by the Government there has been mixed reactions across the country. This has led to different opinions from stakeholders, experts and farmers in the agricultural value chain.​ On today's podcast to discuss this we have Dr. Francis Nangayo, Senior Manager and Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs Coordinator at AATF Compact together with Adams Amenya who is the Commercial Director at Sistema Bio Kenya.

David Tanui an agronomist working with the Kerio Valley Development Authority, KVDA has been spearheading crop production at the Wei Wei Irrigation Sheme in West Pokot County. The irrigation scheme has been very beneficial to the residents who were known before as pastrolists, falling short of food after long periods of drought. Some of the crops grown in the area are green grams, sorghum, maize for seed production, mangoes among Taynuilt fruits. On an interview with Faith Kutere, Tanui discloses that despite Wei Wei and its environs being an ASAL region, the available water when used appropriately in farming, will boost food production and ensure the residents have enough food throughout the year.

Coenurosis is a disease of the central nervous system in sheep, caused by Coenurus cerebralis, the larval stage of Taenia multiceps, a tapeworm, which infests the small intestine of carnivores.

What is Climate Change? To answer this question listen to this episode as Hellen Miseda The Smart Harvest Sub-Editor and Marion Munyao, Farm Kenya's Producer discuss in detail.

While Kenya’s small and medium enterprises continue to create numerous jobs and boost the country’s GDP, Agri- SMEs are also part of the major contributors in SME growth in Africa. On Agritalk Podcast, Kelvin Nyakundi speaks to Valentine Miheso who is an agribusiness expert from AGRA about the role of Agri-SMEs in growing Africa’s economy and how to support the business environment.

Karren Misoy is a young organic farmer in Uasin Gishu County planting yellow and red capsicums and tomatoes in her small piece of land. Misoy opted for organic farming as a way of maintaining healthy eating habits and reducing the cost of production. She does farming in a green house to ensure that she controls the environment in which the plants grow and increase production as compared to open field farming. Faith Kutere engages her on organic farming and managing a green house on todays AgriTalk Episode.

After retiring as a teacher, Joseph Barsulai decided to venture into coffee farming, something that he has never regretted doing. He started harvesting coffee in 2017 and now owns almost 900 coffee trees as he strives to plant more in his piece of land at Turesia, Elgeyo Marakwet County. Barsulai claims that coffee farming has greatly changed his life and thus has been encouraging farmers in his area to join Turesia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society and venture into coffee farming to earn better income as compared to other farming ventures. Faith Kutere interviews him on todays AgriTalk show episode.

Japheth Kimtai has been rearing chicken for the past 3 years and keeping dairy cows for ten years now. Before, the cost of dairy meal and chicken feed were low, he would benefit hugely on the venture until recently when the cost has been going up gradually. In his farm at Kipkenyo in Uasin Gishu County, Kimtai has found an alternative to manage the high cost of animal feed by producing his own for dairy cows and rearing chicken on a free range. Faith Kutere talks to Kimtai in today's episode.

On this episode, we discuss sericulture, or silk farming. 51 Capital Company has been sensitizing farmers in Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia counties, Western and parts of Central Kenya to embrace silkworm and mulberry farming as another way of diversification. The company has also been supplying mulberry trees for planting as they prepare to rear the common commercial silkworms species, which mainly feed on mulberry leaves only. Faith Kutere interviews Jared Lagat on how silkworms are reared to produce silk.

This podcast is a voice for farmers to know about Climate Smart Agriculture, and benefits of doing CSA. We shall talk to Njoki Thuo, an Agronomist and Team Lead at FarmKenya Initiative from Standard Group PLC. Climate Smart Agriculture entails having background information to navigate through it. The host is Hellen Miseda, guesting Njoki Thuo, produced by Marion Munyao. You can get more informative content on YouTube @farmkenya, Facebook @farmkenya, Twitter @farmkenya254 and website www.farmers.co.ke

Kenyan farmers and animal feed manufacturers are struggling to keep their businesses running in what they term as high cost of feed and raw materials, with a number of chicken farmers in Kiambu County having closed down with small feed manufacturers facing the same dilemma. Join Philip Keitany and Martin Kinoti, the Secretary General of the association of the Kenya Feed Manufactures as they discuss the unfolding feed crisis in Kenya.

This podcast is a guide and a manual to every farmer to be aware of the changing climatic patterns – aiding to know what to plant and when. The world is estimated to have an increase of 70% of more mouths to feed by 2050. Will the world hit the target by 2050? We shall talk to Monicah Njoki, an Agronomist and Team Lead at FarmKenya Initiative from Standard Group PLC. Knowing the impact of climate change is half way through succeeding in planting the right crop at the right season. By so doing, farmers will be practicing Climate Smart Agriculture. The host is Hellen Miseda, guesting Monicah Njoki, produced by Marion Munyao. You can get more informative content on Youtube @farmkenya, Facebook @farmkenya, Twitter @farmkenya254 and website www.farmers.co.ke

This podcast is important to every farmer who has had challenges dealing with animal diseases in their stock. In this episode we shall talk to Dr. Henry Wamwayi who is a Micro-biologist and veterinarian with the AU-IBAR. We shall focus on a livestock disease of economic importance, PPR - Peste des Petits Ruminants also known as sheep and goat plague. PPR infected and at risk countries are home to approximately 1.7 billion heads – around 80 percent – of the global population of sheep and goats. It is estimated that this disease causes annual economic losses of up to USD 2.1 billion. Looking beyond this figure, 300 million families are at risk of losing their livelihoods, food security, and employment opportunities. Hopefully at the end of this episode you our audience will have a better understanding of the disease, how to identify and control it in your flock once it is affected. Njoki Thuo and Wayne Wafula are the hosts.

Leah Malot, a veteran athlete and now a Nominated Member of the County Assembly of Uasin Gishu has been encouraging farmers to venture into coffee farming to boost their income. As a result, she decided to embrace coffee farming in 3 acres of her Kaptagat farm to set an example to the farmers. She started coffee farming in 2019 and is about to start harvesting her crop. In today's Agritalk show, she talks to Faith Kutere on the steps of coffee farming and the input needed to produce the best coffee quality.

In this episode we talk about youth in agriculture with a focus on the livestock sub-sector. It is estimated that 1.8 billion of the world’s population are people between the ages 10-24, the largest young population ever. With this number growing steadily, there is need to engage the youth in different agricultural activities. Agriculture has enormous potential for eradicating poverty, it takes youthful energy and passionate team players to make this a reality. This will not only secure the continents food supply and quality but has great potential to increase the contribution of Agriculture to the GDP of most African states economy and the rest of the world. Our guest today is Jean Baptiste Hategekimana, a young person with an impressive career portfolio. Currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer at Stewardship Agribusiness Incubation Center (SAIC) and President of African Youth in Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture Incubators’ Network (AYL-FAIN), a continental network set up by the African Union, Inter-Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and partners. In our discussion we aim at highlighting the opportunities, encouraging and supporting African youths to take up their roles of engagement in agriculture.

Climate change and disasters such as wild fires, floods and rising lakes have been on the rise in the recent past. On today's podcast, Phillip Keitany hosts Prof. Shem Wandiga to discuss the cause and impact of climate change and disasters.

Fisheries play significant social and nutritional roles in Africa. The sector contributes to food and nutrition security, and provides jobs, in particular for coastal populations, which are often among the poorest and most vulnerable. On average globally, fish and fish products account for 18% of animal protein intake. Due to the growing population and per capita income, demand for fish is expected to increase by 30% by 2030. If the current trend continues without management, the poorest countries will suffer the most. To change this narrative there’s need for efforts towards sustainable use of the marine resources, governance of the sector and deep engagement with coastal communities to bring about transformative interventions that will give new hope to coastal communities. Our guest in this episode is Ms. Malebo Hellen Moepi, an expert in the Aquaculture field, from her experience we shall learn about the status of fisheries in the African continent and address issues related to governance and growth of the fishing sub-sector. Njoki Thuo and Wayne Wafula are the hosts.

This podcast focuses on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation as critical functions in building a strong, global evidence in any organization’s efforts to achieve set objectives. It is the tool that enables different organizations measure the success of their measures and approaches. At the programme level, the purpose of monitoring and evaluation is to track implementation and outputs systematically, and measure the effectiveness of programmes. It helps determine exactly when a programme is on track and when changes may be needed. It forms the basis for modification of interventions and assessing the quality of activities being conducted. Our guests who are Monitoring and Evaluation Specialists expound on AU-IBAR monitoring and Evaluation activities as a key component in the success of their various strategies in the animal resources sector.

Over the years the mismanagement of Kenya's coffee sector saw a number of farmers abandon the crop, a move that saw Kenya's coffee production dropping from 130,000 metric tons to the current 40,000 metric tons. But now a new generation of young players in the sector are trying to improve the fortunes of small scale farmers, by introducing them to contract farming and specialty markets. Join Philip Keitany and Sammy Wachieni to learn more about this efforts.