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Hunger stalks Kisii after harvest season
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 07 October 2008 18:49
Local District Agriculture Officer (DAO) James Katimbwa, attributes reduction in yield to late planting occasioned by post-election violence and lack of farm inputs, mostly fertiliser. "During the planting season, farm inputs were scarce and some farmers would not afford what was available," he said. "Harvests in the past planting season that ended last month would take us to January next year, after which, we expect food crisis to creep in unless interventions are made now," Katimbwa told the Financial Journal during an interview at his office, last week.
Harvesting of maize, finger millet, sorghum and beans was completed last month and farmers have stocked 10,900 tonnes of the produce, while traders account for 900 tonnes and millers 630 tonnes to total 12, 430 tonnes currently in stores. However, the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) Kisii depot has been depleted. The DAO reckons that maize, a staple grain for locals, yielded low at ten bags per acre of land as opposed to the projected 15 bags. Beans output averaged five bags per acre as opposed to the expected nine bags per acre.
"Because of the low output, the NCPB have no stocks in its Kisii depot. The scenario will lead to food insecurity in the district," warned Katimbwa.
The second planting season is ongoing and demand for fertiliser remains high as indicated by requisition forms filed by farmers with the DAO to access NCPB’s subsided fertiliser. Under the board’s fertiliser offer, it cost Sh1,700 per 50kg bag, while market prices range between Sh4,000 and Sh5,000.
A spot check by FJ revealed that there was escalation of food prices in the region with maize recording high price increase. It retails at between Sh1,300 per 90kg bag to Sh,2400. A 2kg tin of beans was retailing at between Sh110 and Sh120, a similar quantity of finger millet was going at between Sh100 and Sh120, while a bunch of banana sold between Sh100 and Sh350 at the local markets. All types of seeds are available at the local NCPB depot and the Kenya Seed Company branch in Kisii.
Kenya Seed Deputy Manager Methuselah Sereti says their prices are affordable and have never been reviewed in the last 15 years. For instance, a 2kg of maize seeds goes at Sh240, while a similar amount of bean seeds costs Sh200 at the stores.
"We advise farmers to buy seeds from registered dealers and insist on being issued with receipts so that they can seek redress in case of crop failure," Sereti said. He reckons that dealers in counterfeits do not issue receipts. Katimbwa, however, contends that crop performance in the region has been fairly satisfactory except for the Panama disease that attacked sweet banana varieties and banana weevil, which is a major threat in the area.
"We have approached Kephis to carry out a survey on the extent of disease and recommend solutions to the menace," says Katimbwa. The decline in food production has also been attributed to farmers’ rigidity in embracing new farming methods. "Farmers here continue to practice archaic methods of farming. Its time they take up new technology," explained the DAO.
In an effort to boost farmers’ earnings. Katimwa says the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) is funding a project dubbed Small Holder Horticultural Marketing Programme (ShoMaP) to market horticultural.
Inadequate farm inputs, coupled by poor crop husbandry, have always been a major bottleneck in the quality and quantity of the crop production in Kisii. The situation, however, is complicated by the lack of agricultural extension officers who, unlike in the past, are rare in the fields. The officers who were frequent visitors to agricultural farms are hardly seen. The ratio of extension officer to farmers in the area stands at 1-3,000 farmers.
At least each of the 18 locations has one extension officer and offers advise at no cost. "We have translated our citizen service charter to Ekegusii (local language) for easier understanding by local farmers," explained Katimwa. New findings by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari) indicate that food security in Kisii is under a major threat from unchecked soil erosion.
The report indicates that land pressure in the district that currently stands at 900 persons per square kilometre has necessitated the opening up of fragile ecosystems, notably farming along the steep slopes.
