A tale of two farms, same crop, different harvests

Vincent Nzive Kiio at his farm in Makaveti, Machakos County, on June 13, 2014. He says that unreliable rainfall and low-quality seeds have led to no yields at his 10-acre farm. PHOTO / JEFF ANGOTE / NATION

What you need to know:

  • Most farmers lose huge harvest due to diseases, poor soil and erratic rainfall.
    It is important for farmers to know the kind of seeds to grow in their areas if they are to get good harvest.

Vincent Nzive Kiio, a farmer in Makaveti location, Machakos County, is not likely to harvest anything from his three-acre maize plantation this season. The crop he planted in early March has withered.

This season, the rains have been too little and infrequent, and the sun too hot, giving his maize no chance to grow and mature properly.

“Most of this maize is not even good for cow feeds,” he admits as he stretches his arms to indicate the loss.

He is only 25, but he has known a life of struggle and want, unable to eke out a decent living from his large tract of land, 10 acres in total.

The rains have failed too often in the region, condemning Kiio and his family to an endless cycle of hunger.

“Last season, I only harvested five bags from three acres,” he says.

COMMON NARRATIVE

Although he buys fertiliser and tries to take advantage of the weather pattern, Kiio has not been lucky. In fact, if it were not for the pigeon peas he planted alongside the maize, his family would have relied entirely on food aid.

A few years ago, Kiio’s story was the common narrative among farmers in Ukambani region. Their entire crops would fail time and again because the rains were too infrequent, leaving the residents at the mercy of benevolent donors.

It was a vicious cycle. Year after year, this would happen with little respite from gnawing hunger and poverty.

However, this sad narrative is changing, and Kiio is soon going to reap from new varieties of maize, which some farmers have embraced.

Away from Kiio’s farm in the same region, standing defiantly in the hot sun are tall green maize plants, with thick stalks and two cobs. These farmers are assured of a good harvest this season, even though rainfall has remained true to its fickle nature.

BUMPER HARVEST

Antony Kyeti, 65, is among farmers in the county expecting a bumper harvest this season. Kyeti planted new hybrid seeds with drought-tolerant qualities called KDV4, while Kiio planted what he has always planted, a grain known as Nduma locally.

Unlike KDV4, Nduma is not drought-resistant, as evidenced by Kiio’s crops. Not even the 10kg of fertiliser that he generously pumped into his land could save the crop from dying.

Although Kyeti is yet to get his first harvest from his KDV4 crop, he admits that he expects a much higher yield than he used to get from other varieties.

“I planted other varieties for six years and never harvested more than six bags an acre,” he says, “But now, judging from how well KDV4 is doing, I expect better yields.”

KDV4 is developed and distributed by Dryland Seeds Limited, a local seed company that offers high-yield hybrid seeds to smallholder farmers.

HYBRID SEEDS

It is among many upcoming seed companies in Africa that are sponsored by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) through its Africa’s Seeds Systems.

Dryland managing director says that the KDV4 maize variety has proved very popular with farmers in the area, many of whom were received very low yields from the local varieties.

“The average yield per hectare for most farmers in Kenya is 1.5 tonnes, which is very low, compared to farmers in Ethiopia, who harvest as much as 3.5 tonnes per hectare,” he states.

His goal is to provide hybrid seeds to as many farmers as possible to cushion them against the devastating effects of drought and famine.

He says that with the new seeds, farmers can expect to harvest 16 bags an acre, as opposed to the four bags they get from the same acre if they plant other varieties.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

“We started with around 50 farmers in 2006. Today, we sell to over 40,000 farmers per year.”

Dryland works with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari) to develop seeds as well as provide much-needed technical support and information for farmers.

Apart from maize, the company also deals in beans, pigeon peas, green grams and sorghum. It supports farmers in Machakos, Makueni, Kitui, Embu, Nakuru, Bomet and Narok.

Kiio admits that he is not aware of the benefits of planting hybrid seeds, adding that he is afraid of growing them because he might make losses if they do not produce as much yield as he expects.

WARY OF NEW VARIETY

In addition, he does not belong to any farmers’ group through which he could receive crucial information regarding new farming methods.

Charles Okwiri, an agronomist, says that there are a lot of farmers like Kiio, who are reluctant to plant a new variety.

“Most of them are wary of doing anything different on their farms because they are very afraid of things going wrong,” he says.

“Unfortunately, the more they plant the old variety, the more they lose to drought because the old varieties are not drought-resistant.”

Dryland has embarked on a rigorous campaign to educate farmers on the need to plant the improved varieties. The most successful so far has been the deployment of extension officers to farms to give farmers valuable advice and training on crop husbandry for free.