Sisal Growing for Soil Erosion prevention

Sisal is a tough plant. It can thrive in drought conditions and in rough land with very little nutrition. Kyuso district of Kitui county of Kenya is one of the district in Kenya which bear the above qualities. Farmers here are are not aware of more importance of Sisal but recently learnt that It helps to stop soil erosion and captures moisture from the atmosphere. It can be planted any time of the year and harvested throughout the year. It even survives fire.

 Mr. Mwengi Musili started growing sisal in his 13 acres land, when he learnt that sisal could control erosion. he had been challenged by erosion in his farm for a very long time since he bought the piece of land as abandoned land and he had to reclaim it. He decided to use sisal for he has never heard in history of a drought that has ever killed the sisal plant and there fore its a drought resistant crop.

He plants the sisal along the terraces and he sisal has prevented erosion by 80%.  "The rill erosion that existed are now filled and am now left with three gullies that are disturbing me seriously and am looking at ways of curbing this" Said Mr Mwengi

Sisal is naturally safe and environmental friendly . It has very few disease which in most cases doesn't need any pesticide. It can be inter-cropped with other crops and even protect the other crops from fire attack..

Groups benefit from household water treatment units

Kyuso adult and continuing education department benefited with the solvatten water boiling apparatus. Solvatten AB, Lion Club Osteraker in Sweden and Kenya One World linking have combined forces to assist the people of larger Mwingi i.e. Mwingi Central ,Kyuso, Tseikuru and Mumoni, Kenya, to help themselves attain a better livelihood. 

Speaking to the Adult and Continuing officer – Kyuso Mrs. Agnes Mughi who is also the chair lady of Kyuso Maarifa Centre Advisory committee said the technology is best placed with adults.  “Adults frequently apply their knowledge in a practical fashion to learn effectively. They must have a reasonable expectation that the knowledge recently gained will help them further their goals.” Said Agnes.

Rivers, rock catchments, boreholes in larger Mwingi especially in kyuso are primary source of water in this area. The water collected from all these sources is not safe for drinking without boiling. By promoting the use of Solvatten they will improve hygiene and reduce water related problems for both adult and children by 80-90%, reduce poverty by increasing the time used by mother in economic related activities, promote effective and affordable intervention that is environmentally friendly. It’s meant to reduce deforestation by high percentage. The families will use less time to search for wood and for boiling and it will contribute to a sustainable development by counteracting deforestation.

The container has indicators and can boil up to a capacity of 10litres of water. The organization is selling it at Kshs 2000 in the area which they said it’s a subsidized rate for it cost kshs 15,000 in supermarkets

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Weather Observation station for Kyuso and surrounding

Weather forecasts and historical climatic data form part of the core information required by most farmers when making strategic and operational decisions. Historical data can be used to determine climatic trends which could assist in determining which crops and/or varieties to plant in an area.

The resident of Kyuso might benefit with a weather/observation from Kenya Meteorological centre. Talking to extension officers in Kyuso, the assistant director of Kenya Met  Mr.Ayub Shaka and  Mr. James K. Muhindi from the forecast department Heard from the extension officers that the weather forecasts that is depicted by Makindu Weather station does reflects here (Kyuso).

The extension officers thought it would be wise to establish an observation station in kyuso since the Makindu weather/observation station is 299Km from Kyuso and this the data they rely on. 

Mr. Shaka gave the Extension officers and local leader hope when he said that they can still establish a community radio station in the area through Ranet program. He said the locals should also contribute by:

1.       Provision of premises (2 Rooms)

2.       Volunteer presenter (KMD will interview volunteers)

3.       Steering committee (Volunteer)

4.   Land 2.5 acres (future development)

This will be an initiative of Kenya Adaption to climate Change in arid Land (KACCAL) and stakeholders. 

New pump eases burden for farmers

by STELLA CHERONO
Aside from using it as a means of transport, there is another reason why a farmer should buy a motorcycle – pumping water.
A new water pump, developed by Farmlink Africa and currently being exhibited the Kisumu ASK show, eases the burden of irrigation by relying on the engine of a motorcycle.

The device has a capacity of pumping between 22,000 to 40,000 litres of water per hour, consuming a measly 0.2 litres of petrol in an hour.

“This pump is mounted to a motorcycle Power Take Over, commonly known as the engine shaft, that drives it as it pumps the water from its source,” said Farmlink Africa sales director Mwangi Mbugiro.

He said the device can also pump water from a well of up to 40 feet, but the speed and the amount of water is dependent on the slope.

“On a not so steep place, the water is pumped so fast as compared to pumping it from a well that is deep” Mr Mwangi said.

The pump, he added, has the ability to pump water to as far as 50 meters uphill for a continuous operating time of 100 hours and is suitable for pumping water for irrigation, car washing, firefighting, spraying crops and for fumigating.

“The advantage of this machine is that it uses a locomotive that can be used for other purposes as compared to the common diesel water pump that performs one purpose only and lies idle when you are not pumping water,” Mr Mwangi.

Mr Mwangi said that the 1.6 Kg pump costs Sh 12,000, adding that the company has sold 30 units of the pump in the last three weeks.

“The pipe that is suitable to be used along with this pump retails at Sh 400 per meter but the pump comes with some few meters of the pipe” He said.

“There are so many inventions that can be used in agriculture to enhance food production and alleviate poverty and hunger,” he said.

ELNINO/LANINA OR NORMAL RAIN

Since the season began the Kyuso resident from lower eastern of Kenya had believed that there were expecting Elnino rain. After interview with some community members on who disseminated this information they were not sure since there are a lot of extension officers in the area. The farmers had prepared for much rainfall and were even advised to plant crops that required large amount of rainfall.

Talking to extension officers and local readers in Kyuso during a Kenya Adaptation to Climate change In Arid Areas meeting Mr. James K Muhindi from the forecast department of Kenya Meteorological centre opposed this and advised the extension officers to reverse this information since it might affect yield in this area. “The season is not long gone and so the information can be reversed” said Mr. Muhindi said”It is not yet too late” Mr. Muhindi thought it was wise for the extension officers in the area to develop smart extension messages for forecasts.

Mr. Muhindi was accompanied by Ayub Shaka who is an assistant director, Kenya meteorological department. Mr. Muhindi gave the factors that contribute to a rain from being considered Elnino or Lanina. He said they use the nino 3.4 rating and if it is above 0.6 for 5 consecutive months for example 1986 it is referred as moderated Elnino, below 0.6 for 3 consecutive months weak Elnino. He added that the continuing October November December rain could not be an Elnino since it doesn’t meet the above standards and therefore the farmers were misinformed    

The extension officers were amazed to get the weekly weather forecast from Mr. Shaka and Muhindi and were told to give feedback whether the projection was exact. Talking to one extension officer by phone I confirmed it rained as they had forecasted so people should have confidence with Kenya forecast department. 

Seasonal forecasting for OCT-NOV-DECEMBER 2012

Sorghum quality

Gadam sorghum was declared cash crops in the six districts hived from the larger Mwingi district, (Mwingi central, Mwingi West, Tseikuru, Kyuso, Mwingi East and Migwani) by Senior Assistant Director of Agriculture, Mr, Muia Muindi. Since this time stakeholders has been promoting this crop species day in day out. There has been bumper harvest of this crop since the promotion started especially in Ngomeni in Kyuso District.
The Government launched the sale of newly introduced Gadam Sorghum and green grams in the larger Mwingi district to East African Breweries Limited (EABL) and World Food Programme (WFP).
Quality is a factor that should be considered as the promotion of the crop specie continues for the quality of Gadam sorghum or any other sorghum variety may be affected by insects, excessive heat, mold and sprout
The quality of any variety of sorghum will depend on the genetic, environment, harvesting, drying and storage condition as well as handling/blending
The following are the quality an employer will consider when buying any sorghum variety:

1.      Moisture content maximum          13%

2.      Aflatoxin Maximum                     10 ppb

3.      Broken grain maximum                3%

4.      Sprouted  grain maximum            1%

5.      Other Impurities maximum          1%

6.      Tannin content Maximum            1%

7.      No bad smell

8.      No poisonous Chemicals

9.      No live insects

10.  Maximum 10 dead insects per 1 Kg

11.  Must from entire harvest