Diversification of crops will improve diet and income

Nicholas Kishor (Right) and his friends harvest green maize at Kapkoros village in Nandi County. Farmers have opted to sale the green maize in their farms owing to the profitability over dried maize, avoiding attack from fall army worms and creating space to plant short season crops like beans. 28-07-2017. [PHOTO: KEVIN TUNOI]

Crop diversification remains key to solving problems facing maize farmers in parts of Rift Valley. The farmers have been demotivated by poor prices due to liberalisation of the economy, compounded by the opening up of the East African Community (EAC), which has exposed them to unfair competition. Some traders import maize from Uganda, which is harvested before Kenya, and keep it awaiting the National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB) to start buying the grain.

When the traders importing maize from Uganda are making a killing, local farmers continue to languish in poverty. Kenya may not do much to stop maize imports from neighbouring countries as this might sour trade relations and in the process compromise the goals of EAC.

Local farmers are staring at huge losses as the harvest season approaches. The price of a 90kg bag is expected to drop to about Sh1,000. In fact, most farmers are still holding onto last season’s stocks due to poor prices. To make matters worse, they have not been paid for deliveries made to NCPB. This is because the board ran out of cash after paying brokers who supplied cheap maize from Uganda at the expense of Kenyan farmers.

Disillusioned Kenyan farmers are still holding on to about 500,000 bags of maize whose value is estimated at Sh1.6 billion. The NCPB owes them about Sh3.5 billion for maize supplied to the Strategic Grain Reserve. Against this background, local leaders, including Deputy President William Ruto and Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago, have been urging farmers to diversify crop production to address problems associated with maize farming.

This is a step in the right direction. Agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who have many challenges that are compounded by reliance on rainfall. These include land degradation and declining soil fertility. Maize is the country’s staple food crop, and as such, most farmers grow it regardless of the suitability of land. This has led to poverty, especially when there is prolonged drought leading to crop faiure.

That is why crop diversification is the way to go. Even research has shown that it provides farmers with better diets and improves their income. Farmers should not rely on maize alone because it is no longer profitable. But the ongoing registration of farmers to determine their maize acreage is a great idea as it will help to weed out cartels.