Benefits of raising fish in rice fields.

Benefits of raising fish in rice fields. A Chinese study has confirmed the findings of Kenya's Yala Swamp rice farmers, with evidence that cultivating rice and fish together stops disease, ups yields, and cuts the need for both fertilizers and pesticides. The Yala Swamp farmers, near Lake Victoria, have for decades grown fish and rice in the same flooded paddy fields, and have discovered they never require fertilizers to grow their rice, which is also rarely attacked by common rice diseases such as rice sheath blast responsible for some 40 per cent of rice losses in the country. A six-year long study conducted in China found that when fish were introduced into flooded paddy fields, farmers were able to grow the same amount of grain as in conventional rice monocultures, but with more than two-thirds less pesticide and a quarter less fertiliser. Farmers could therefore make large savings on fertilisers and pesticides, which typically represent 60–70 per cent of the total cost of rice production. Scientists now say the rice-fish technique is good for both the fish and the rice. Safely hidden from birds, the fish thrive in the dense rice plants, while they in turn provide a source of fertilizer with their droppings, eat insect pests and help to circulate oxygen around the rice field. Farmers also claim that keeping fish in rice fields can increase rice yields by up to 10% – plus they have the additional supplies of fish. source

Soil steaming cuts tomato losses.

Soil steaming cuts tomato losses. After a two-season sustained decline in the greenhouse tomato produce, Nathan Mala is recovering in yields after steaming the soil to kill pathogens like bacteria wilt. The Kiambu County farmer steamed the soil to kill the bacterial wilt before packing it into 400 polythene bags for his 8m by 30m greenhouse in Nyambari. The soil was also mixed with farm yard manure, but he used folia and other granular fertilizers to boost the nutrients content. The farmer spent more than Sh10,000 in 2015 in controlling soil borne diseases such as fusarium wilt, bacterial wilt and other pathogens, which cause death of the tomatoes before flowering. He repeatedly filled a 200kg capacity drum with soil and 20 litres of water before heating it in an open fire. Every day, the farmer filled 20 polythene bags with the treated soil until he reached 400. In preventing recontamination of the soil he covered the floor with a polythene liner. Although he did not have an instrument of confirming if the heat had killed the pathogens, the drying or limited steam from the soil was a sign of certainty. The door path into the greenhouse had a disinfectant, jik, for cleaning the feet before entry. For effective control of the pathogens he germinated the seedlings in a soilless culture, which is a rich nutrient medium. The seedlings are clean and the roots are least disturbed during transplanting, which enables fast establishment and a vibrant growth vigour. more

Common Food Additive Promotes Colon Cancer in Mice.

Common Food Additive Promotes Colon Cancer in Mice. Colon cancer is on the rise in younger people according to New York Times , with a sharp increase in people in their 20s and 30s. What's causing the spike? One finding suggests a super common food additive found in thousands of foods could be a 'new' colon cancer trigger. A popular food additive used in everything from dill pickles to ice cream is now linked to colon cancer.Emulsifiers are added to most processed foods to improve food texture and extend shelf life. But it also throws off healthy levels of intestinal bacteria, triggering chronic, low-level inflammation that promotes colorectal cancer, according to a new study. For this study, researchers focused on two of the most commonly used emulsifiers called polysorbate 80 and carboxymethylcellulose. They fed mice doses comparable to the cumulative amounts people would eat daily in processed foods. Consuming emulsifiers drastically changed the species composition of the gut microbiota in a manner that made it more pro-inflammatory, creating a niche favoring cancer induction and development, researchers pointed out. Alterations in bacterial species resulted in bacteria expressing more flagellin and lipopolysaccharide, which activate pro-inflammatory gene expression by the immune system. more

Weight-related deaths can affect non-obese too.

Weight-related deaths can affect non-obese too. A new global study suggests you dont you don't have to be diagnosed as obese to be at risk of dying from illnesses related to excess weight. The study found more than 2 billion children and adults suffered from health problems linked to being overweight,as the 4 million deaths attributed to being overweight in 2015, nearly 40% were not considered clinically obese. The common diseases are include type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers ,although an increasing percentage had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30, the threshold for obesity. The paper, published in the the New England Journal of Medicine, said the findings highlighted "a growing and disturbing global public health crisis". "People who shrug off weight gain do so at their own risk - risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and other life-threatening conditions," said Dr Christopher Murray, author of the study and director of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. more

University students turns to agribusiness.

University students turns to agribusiness. This is the story of 4 agri-preneurs, all who are under 30, who give insights into their ventures and how they strike a balance between the lecture halls and running their fast-growing side hustles. Dickson Otieno Okello, 29 and Dickson Otieno Ouma, 27,started the business started in 2015 has grown tremendously and is valued at more than Sh1 million. The two students started Agri-Fresh Supplies, a fruit juice company, and Prima Gallus, a poultry extension services outfit. Agri-Fresh Supplies deals in fresh mango, avocado, passion fruit, pineapple and orange juices alongside banana and apples. The shop located at the university processes juice under the brand name Smoothies, which sells like hot cake. They buy yoghurt from the university and use it blend our juice, a unique mixture that has become popular with students, teaching and non-teaching staff, noting they also makes plain juices. A bottle of a 250ml of juice sells at Sh40 and in a good day, they make up to Sh12,000 from the shop that opens six days a week. There are occasions when sales drop to Sh6,000 per day especially during the dry season when getting milk is a challenge. Ouma and Okello who still are the co-founders of Prima Gallus which specialises in chicken farming, feed their chicken at Egerton University, Njoro. Prima Gallus, the poultry extension services business, was started in 2016 and focuses on the entire value chain. They train farmers on various aspects of poultry farming and offer extension services. The business that employs four people is incubated at Egerton University’s Centre of Excellence for Livestock Innovation and Business (CoELIB). According to him, farmers want to get into poultry farming because it is less intensive and there is quick cash flow.“It is this gap we are now exploiting by making use of the skills we learnt at the university,” explained Ouma, adding in a good month, they make Sh50,000 and get clients from up to Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. Besides extension services, they host clinics for farmers where they charge groups between Sh15,000 – Sh20,000 and train them on how to brand their products, whom to approach to get the correct market prices and funding and how to present and preserve their products to shield them from loses and poultry management aspects. more

How a farmer makes millions from Moringa farming.

How a farmer makes millions from Moringa farming. When sukuma wiki (collard green), maize and tomatoes failed to do well in her farm in Taita Taveta County, Beatrice Nguru turned to moringa, a crop she knew little about. She started growing moringa after being trained in 2006 by the Danish International Development Authority and learning about moringa was an eye-opener for her. Nguru is reaping the benefits of moringa, a crop that she describes as a wonder because it has offered her more than she expected.She started with 80 moringa seedlings in her backyard, and after seeing them do well, she planted more trees on her 10 acres in Ronge, Taita-Taveta. Moringa takes six to eight months to mature. It is fast-growing, drought-resistant and the tree remains evergreen with exceptionally nutritious leaves, pods and roots.Every part is valuable from the root of the plant to the leaf. Spacing the trees during planting depends on the objective of cultivating the crop, to produce and harvest moringa seeds and leaves, space the trees 2m by 2m. The production for leafy powder, the space should be 0.5m by 1m, for production of leafy vegetables, space the trees a foot apart to make it possible to harvest the young edible shoots every two to three weeks. Moringa tree takes six to eight months to mature and has a lifespan of 30 to 40 years.During the rainy season, she harvests on weekly basis while in dry spell, she harvests after two weeks. Moringa leaves provide alternative vegetables for human consumption,as they taste like spinach and their young, tender and green pods are eaten as beans. Its flowers can further be used as a natural pesticide. Moringa tree is also capable of producing high quality fodder during the dry season. The leaves are readily eaten by cows, goats, sheep, pigs and rabbits. She mixes fodder that she offers her two Friesian cows with moringa leaves to increase milk production and make it creamy without affecting its taste, smell and colour. She also feeds her 105 kienyeji chickens moringa seeds enabling some to lay double-yolked eggs. She also processes moringa leaves into powder and packs in plastic tins of various sizes. She harvests the leaves, wash and dry on a mesh in a well-ventilated room for three days. She grinds the dried leaves using a machine into fine powder before packing into 50, 100 and 500g tins. The 50g goes for Sh150, 100g for Sh300 and 500g for Sh720, making between Sh50,000 and Sh60,000 from the products per month. source

How to process Moringa leaves into powder.

How to process Moringa leaves into powder. Moringa leaves can be consumed fresh, cooked or dried. Moringa powder is nutritious, is easy to make, easy to store and easy to use. Moringa Leaf Powder is considered a multivitamin shot! Strip all the leaflets from the moringa leaf petiole. This can be done directly from the branches if the moringa leaves have not been stripped off the main branch before transportation. At this stage, diseased and damaged leaves are discarded. Washing the Moringa leaves Wash leaflets in troughs using clean potable water to remove dirt. Wash leaves again in 1% saline solution for 3-5 minutes to remove microbes. Finally wash again in clean water. Leaves are now ready for drying. Drain each trough after each wash: fresh leaves must always be washed with fresh water. more