How to tackle soil-borne diseases

By Shabibah Nakirigya

What you need to know:
Adequate crop nutrition makes plants more tolerant of, or resistant to, diseases. Also, the nutrient status of the soil and the use of particular fertilisers and amendments can have a significant impact on the pathogen’s environment.

You have done everything possible, including using enough fertiliser, top dressing, foliar feed, herbicides, fungicides and all, and even ensured your plants are well watered, but they do not seem to be growing right. Even before they have lasted a month or two in the ground they start turning yellow, have rotting roots and stunted growth.

Read more ...

Digital solutions are boosting agriculture in Kenya, but it’s time to scale up.

Digital agricultural services have proliferated across Africa over the last decade. Most are services that work on mobile phones, although more advanced technologies are in use too – like satellite images, sensors, blockchains and big data analytics.

The services offer access to information, markets and financial products.
Kenya is at the forefront of this development in Africa. The country is home to numerous service providers that seek to solve problems in food and agriculture using digital technologies. In 2020, the GSM Association counted 95 such services in Kenya. This is around twice the number found for instance in Nigeria, the country with the second highest digital agricultural services prevalence in Africa. Providers range from small start-ups to large companies that mainly offer advice, finance and market linkage.

Read more ...

Investing in Rural Women Farmers Narrows The Gender Gap In Agriculture

Authors: Jummai O Yila, Scientist – Gender Research Almamy Sylla, Scientific Officer, ICRISAT, WCA Bamako

The glaring inequality between men and women farmers in the African agricultural sector is alarming evidence that calls for fair, inclusive and sustainable development.

Gender productivity gaps vary across and even within countries, but recent studies suggest that gender gaps are in the range of 10% to 30%.

Gender gap in agricultural productivity means that crop production is lower than its potential. Closing the gender gap in access to production capitals alone has been estimated to have the potential of lifting 100–150 million people out of hunger, thus resulting in benefits that spread far beyond female farmers. Gender issues in agriculture including access to and control over resources continues to be the underlining factor widening the gap in production between male and female farmers in Africa. Much of the work women do as household providers and agricultural producers is unpaid, making their contribution essentially invisible. Women and female-headed households are disproportionately affected by economic recession and higher food prices and trade policies.

Read more ...

Why Farmers Need To Apply Liquid Foliar Fertilizer

By William Ng’eno
-Too much rainfall leads to fertiliser leaching or surface run-off that washes away nutrients.

Crops, just like human beings and indeed all animals, need a balanced diet to thrive. Yet this truism hasn’t been appreciated by some farmers, leaving their soil poor and unable to sustain crops. They in turn don’t get enough reward for their investment.

With the continued use of the traditional dry fertilisers, which often have one or two nutrients, the rest of the ingredients, so to speak, are expected to come from the good old soil that has sustained us for decades, even centuries.

This is expecting too much from the soil! And expectedly, the nutrients in the soil get depleted over time, which will be reflected in symptoms like yellowing, purplish leaves, poor flowering, poor fruiting and ultimately reduced yields.

Read more ...