Farmers have been
urged to increase the acreage of maize during the ongoing planting season to
meet the high demand locally.
The Nakuru County Crops
Officer, Fredrick Owino said they were concerned that over the years, farmers
have gradually reduced the maize acreage and shifted to other crops such as
potatoes and horticulture, a move that has made the country a net importer of maize.
Owino said the claim
by many farmers that the crop fetches less money in the market was not entirely
true since right now a bag of maize is going for Sh4000 in the local market and
yet the demand is not being met.
“Our farmers’ tend to
produce much less per acre, some as little as ten sacks, due to poor planting
and management of the crop, while farmers in the neighbouring countries harvest
between 30 to 40 bags per acreage,’’ he stated.
He however commended the
few farmers who have constantly worked closely with extension officers and have
steadily increased their production from 15 sacks to 20 and some have even
achieved the minimum expected per acreage, which is 30 sacks.
The Crops Officer said
that the weather patterns were promising a good year with sufficient rainfall,
which favours maize farming.
He added that maize
and maize products still remain the staple food in Kenya and on almost all
dining tables throughout the country the major meal consumed is ugali.
Owino said crops such
as bananas and potatoes were still considered as less significant meals and
were mainly consumed by children or at lunchtime.
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