Unique soil enhancer launched to boost all-round farming
Farmers use composed manure to plant crops on their farm in Ikolomani, Kakamega County. A unique soil enhancer has been launched to help in farming. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The non-toxic and biodegradable product has been tested and proved viable on a host of crops including onions, dry and snap beans, potatoes and flowers with farmers recording up to 10per cent increase in their yields.
- The product allows farmers to save water and key nutrients which are usually lost through leaching, among other processes.
- The product comes into the market as a relief to farmers, at a time when water scarcity has plagued their rain-fed farming practices due to scarce rainfall and with the cost of irrigation skyrocketing out of rich of most smallholder farmers.
Farmers in the region are set to experience the benefits of a unique soil enhancer that absorbs and releases up to 95per cent of moisture and nutrients contents to plants only when the plants require them, hence conserving water especially during times when water supply is dwindling.
Launched through a partnership between leading agro-input firm, Elgon Kenya Ltd and UPL, a global Plant Health and Seed Company, the starch-based absorbent enhancer known as Zeba™ comes in form of granules which are capable of expanding up to 400times their original sizes, trapping minerals and water inside them and only releasing them during dry spells when plants require them, as they remain effective for more than a year.
The non-toxic and biodegradable product has been tested and proved viable on a host of crops including onions, dry and snap beans, potatoes and flowers with farmers recording up to 10per cent increase in their yields.
Many years’ trials have also affirmed that the product significantly hastens seedling emergence and strengthens stand establishment, resulting in consistent plant growth and higher-quality crops with reduced water and other inputs.
The expansion and contraction of the granules in response to water availability and demand also helps aerate the soil, providing more oxygen to the plant's root system.
“The product allows farmers to save water and key nutrients which are usually lost through leaching, among other processes,” said Nishant Pahuja, UPL Business Head for Africa, adding that farmers are therefore able to utilise two key aspects of plant growth without having to spend more.
“This is one of the most innovative inventions of our time especially in sustainable usage of water, a key component in food production, with its current declining supplies. This technology ensures not just water availability throughout the plants’ growth, but also that it is never wasted,” said Bimal Kantaria, Managing Director, Elgon Kenya Ltd.
The product comes into the market as a relief to farmers, at a time when water scarcity has plagued their rain-fed farming practices due to scarce rainfall and with the cost of irrigation skyrocketing out of rich of most smallholder farmers.
“With numerous warnings of erratic climatic changes, technologies like Zeba™ allow us to practice year round uninterrupted farming especially now that demand for food has reached unprecedented highs,” said Savesh Kumar, the African Head of Marketing at UPL.
