Bleak future for farmers as diseases attack crop

Coffee farmers in Mt Kenya are staring at huge losses after diseases attacked their crop.

The crop has been affected by Coffee Berry Disease (CBD), a fungal infection associated with cold weather, and bacterial blight disease.

CBD attacks young green berries, and if uncontrolled can lead to loss of an entire crop.

Bacterial blight, on the other hand, causes loss of the normal green coloration of leaves before the death of plant tissues, including branches, twigs and floral organs.

The diseases have been reported in Kirinyaga, Embu, Murang’a and Nyeri counties. Farmers are calling on national and county governments to intervene to save them from further losses.

Immature berries

Unripe, immature berries have already started falling off the coffee trees. Prolonged rainfall is said to have compounded the problem.

James Kariuki, a farmer from Embu and a member of Mt Kenya Organic Coffee farmers, said CBD had affected many farms in the county.

“Farmers are likely to lose up to 50 per cent of their coffee if the diseases are not controlled,” said Mr Kariuki.

He said this is the first time bacterial blight is affecting the crop in the region. The disease has been known to attack crops in Mt Elgon.

“We visited farms in three counties and witnessed how the disease has ravaged immature coffee. Flowers wither. Later, branches and even whole trees would eventually dry up,” said Kariuki.

Kariuki, a large scale coffee farmer, said the two diseases can be controlled with proper canopy management through pruning and spraying.

Chemical solution

A chemical called copper oxychloride increases chlorophyll, which boosts a plant’s ability to resist diseases.

Kariuki has a spraying programme that starts in September to control bacterial blight and in November to fight leaf rust.

He also sprays in February, again to control bacterial blight. Between March and June, he, again, sprays to control coffee berry diseases.

“When I spray like this and prune my coffee, I control these diseases by up to 80 per cent,” he says.

Murue Farmers Cooperative Society chairman David Maruku said many coffee farms in Embu had been affected by the CBD.

Prolonged rainfall

“We expect coffee yields in the county to be much lower than last year’s because of the attack,” said Maruku.

Farmers in Embu have also attributed the outbreak of the diseases to the prolonged rainy season.

“Upon being attacked by this fungal disease, young berries start withering and later fall off. We fear we shall have a lot of losses,” he said.

Winnie Muthini, from Kirinyaga, said: “We are fearing that unpredictable weather conditions are likely to worsen the situation”.

In Muranga, CBD has been reported at Nyakihai, Gikarangu and Mugeka. Peter Karanja, from Kiharu zone, said the damage was huge.

“My crop was attacked at the flowering stage. We are asking the county and the national governments to intervene to save us from further losses,” said Karanja.

In Nyeri, farmers from Othaya, Mukurweini and Mathira have not been spared. Karatina and its environs have also been hit hard.

Jason Mugweru, from Kangocho, said most of his immature berries had continued to fall off the coffee trees since the outbreak was reported.

“This is happening yet I had sprayed my farm on the advise of extension officers,” said Mr Mugweru.

Kirinyaga Deputy Governor Peter Ndambiri said: “The matter has been brought to the attention of the county government and extension officers will be dispatched to the affected areas to provide the required technical advice”.

Coffee directorate boss Paul Nyanjui said they were educating farmers on how to control the diseases through spraying.