Plant clinics helping farmers and ensuring food security.

Plant clinic are helping farmers and ensuring food security in Kenya. Majority of Kenya’s population mainly about 75% with the majority concentrated in the rural areas, rely on agriculture not just for food but as a source of income. This sector the country counts on for economic development, contributing over 25 per cent to the economy. The small holder farmers, who form the bulk of the food producers have been grappling with a myriad of challenges, key among them pests and diseases. In fact they lose up to 40 per cent of their yields to these pests according to Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KARLO) the premier research institution in the country. The situation has been exacerbated by changing weather patterns that have seen the emergence of new pests and mutation of others, some which are attacking crops they traditionally didn't. But in the wake of these issues that have threatened food production and ultimately fanning the hunger cycle, Kenya is counting on a model that is giving farmers more personalized attention to tame these diseases. The 'plant clinics', the model which resembles the human health concept, involves officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, researchers from agricultural institutions and scientists who are christened 'plant doctors'. They visit markets, churches and schools on select days and pitch tents there. Farmers then bring samples of their ‘sick plants’ which the doctors analyze before giving a diagnosis and recommending treatment. The concept being championed by both government of Kenya and private research institutions like Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International (CABI), have so far been rolled out in major food producing counties in Kenya, and has trained over 268 plant doctors and documented more than 11,600 plant health queries since they were set up in 2010. In Kiambu on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital Nairobi at Kirigiti market, a queue of farmers holding polythene bags snakes its way through the market. Two men are attending to the farmers under a tree. They have a table that has brochures, scalpel, laptops, and magnifying lens. They are the plant doctors who have been stationed here, and visit the area every Saturday. Humphrey Wekesa, one of the doctors is a senior agronomist from the Ministry of Agriculture. Jude Thoiya listens and watches attentively as Humphrey dissects a tomato plant he has brought after noticing worms which have made the leaves wilt and destroyed a section of his yields. The retired civil servant has been growing fresh produce since he retired five years ago. “Your tomatoes have been affected by Whiteflies. You are lucky they haven’t gotten into the severe stage of the attack. He was advised not to spray any pesticides yet, but to use wood ash and sprinkle it over the plants for a week and then come back here and give update.Jude sighs heavily. He has spent a fortune on conventional pesticide and nothing seemed to have worked. “I can’t believe the solution could be in something as simple as wood ash,” he says as he leaves and another farmers prepares to be attended to. They have been instrumental in taming the spread of the Maize Lethal Necrosis, christened the cancer of maize, which struck Kenya’s major food producing zones in 2012 and wiped over 300,000 tonnes of yields in that year alone. The clinics have also nipped in the bud the spread of Tomato leaf miner, commonly referred to as Tuta Absoluta that has crippled tomato production in Kenya according to CABI. The clinics have also played surveillance role especially against foreign threats. At the Kenyan -Uganda border where four clinics have been stationed, they have averted the spread of the notorious black stem rust called Ug 1999 originating from Uganda. Because Kenya and Uganda farmers trade freely, the disease is easier to transport. Samples submitted at the clinics spotted high levels of the fungus.more

Solar-powered dairy farm.

A farmer in Kenya is reaping massive benefits from solar-enhanced dairy-farming. His venture is an example of how the country is transitioning to the realization of the 7th Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), that credits assurance of access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. In order to boost production, Willy Kirwa, a dairy farmer located in Eldoret (Western region of Kenya in the Rift Valley) invested $40,000 USD in a modern state-of-the art solar power system on his 50-acre farm to help in lighting and processing of milk. He has over time installed 30 solar panels with different capacity outputs (100 watts and 200 watts). Even though the installation cost was expensive, it has been confirmed that the project is lucrative and cheaper in the long-run. It is worth it because of the lack of monthly power overheads encountered using mains-grid electricity. The farm needed a comfortable environment with enough lighting to boost his milk-production which currently stands at 600 liters per day, hence the need for the technology. Large scale milk production also needs processing machinery akin to solar powered milk cooling machine. The dairy farmer has installed a solar power system at his farm most specifically to power the milk cooling machine and light the cattle shed for milking. He has a milk-cooling facility that is directly connected to solar power source by power cables. #solar Inside the cattle pen, some power bulbs are visible which are turned on whenever there is need for more light. He preferred using solar energy to other energy-sources because it is natural and cheaper to manage as compared to grid electricity that needs a lot of money to install in addition to the high monthly bills, given his large-scale milk production. The dairy farmer also opted to employ solar energy because he has many dairy cattle and the milk production is high. He had to acquire milk-processing machinery, which includes a milk cooling machine. He preferred to put up solar-energy to run the machine because it is easy to handle and maintain, which is also cheap. #dairy The photovoltaic solar panels are connected in a way that they are easily hit directly by the sun, converting the sun’s rays into electricity. Solar panels on his roof are directly connected to power storage solar batteries with power inverters that convert the direct current (DC) power generated by solar panels to alternating current (AC) that is used on the grid. The power serves many other auxiliary purposes as it also lights cattle sheds that are turned on during milking very early in the morning and late in the evening after the sun has set. Apart from lighting the cattle shed, the renewable energy is also used in lighting his main house. This is just an example of the ancillary benefits of cheaper and cost-effective renewable-energy. He also prefers lighting during milking in order to boost milk production in the sense that the strong light attracts flies that could suck cows during the milking process, which would make them restless. The light also gives the cattle a warm and friendly environment, making them relaxed. The farmer also plans to expand the solar plant for other domestic use. more

Mercury levels in cat, dog food may depend on fish species

Mercury levels in cat, dog food may depend on fish species: The mercury concentrations in more than 100 dog and cat foods were measured by scientists. Some foods had levels above those considered safe for other animals.

Suya, Isi- ewu, Kilisi, cause premature death .

Suya, Isi- ewu, Kilisi, cause premature death accordiing to the Health Minister.The Minister of health, Prof Isaac Adewole has said Suya, Isi- ewu, Kilisi and others are contributing to the cause of premature deaths in the country. He disclosed this while delivering a keynote address at the First Annual Black Tie Gala event organised by the Tristate Heart Foundation (THF) noting that the unhealthy diet of Nigerians often lead to hypertension, which is the leading cardiovascular disease in Nigeria, resulting to stroke if untreated. Adewole, noted that 1 in every 5 Nigerians is hypertensive and at risk of premature death. He said, “Sadly, there is widespread low consumption of proteins, fruits and vegetables and increasing patronage of fast food outlets by the population,” “There is also large promotion of sweetened products such as carbonated drinks, pastries, candies and other refined sugars, while excessive intake of salt is promoted by food additives such as monosodium glutamate common in delicacies such as suya, kilisi, isi-ewu, ngwo-ngwo, among others.” He advised Nigerians to give up eating some of their favorite traditional meat-based meals for the sake of their health with emphasis on Suya, Isi ewu, Ngwo Ngwo, Kilisi and others. more

Equine intelligence.

Horses are quite smart,watch how this equine pick out the correct picture.Watch now

Mini Horse Can Trot Again Because He Has A Brand-New Hoof.

Mini Horse Can Trot Again Because He Has A Brand-New Hoof.Things are finally look up again for this miniature horse named Shine — and he's got the moves to prove it. A few months back, Shine was nearly killed in a suspected dog attack while at home on his farm in Colorado. Although he did manage to survive initially, his rear leg was so badly injured it wasn't clear at first if he would make it in the long run. A local veterinarian was able to stabilize Shine and bandage him up, allowing him to maintain some mobility — but his road to recovery was far from over.After weeks passed and the mini horse's leg showed no signs of healing, his owners sought help

Aliko Dangote :Tapping the gold in tomato business.

Aliko Dangote :Tapping the gold in tomato business. Agriculture is the way out of recession and definitely the future of work. The drive to ensure food security is the in road to agribusiness ventures and investment opportunities in agriculture. The wave of investments in agricultural sector is not limited to farmers and youths even billionaires are trying to increase their wealth by venturing into agribusiness. Aliko Dangote — Africa’s richest man —has ventured into the tomato business by opening a $20 million processing facility in Kano state, northern Nigeria. The goal is to compete for a share of lucrative tomato paste market, which currently depends on imports from China. The new tomato processing plant, built by Swiss-based Syngenta, has the capacity to produce up to 400,000 tons of tomato paste every year for the Nigerian market. The plant is working with a network of over 50,000 smallholder tomato farmers in Northern Nigeria,he will buy off their products at a competitive price,better than that obtained in open market.The step towards cutting waste from post harvest losses is a laudable effort but more investors are needed to cut off imports completely but promote exports instead.