Farmers in Western Kenya region have been advised to adapt the use of an improved treated maize seed variety that will help eradicate striga weed  in their farms. The treated seed variety known as Striga Away IR maize,  has been coated with chemicals that helps reduce the effect of  striga weed thus enabling the plant to grow to its full potential. Mr. Caleb Adede, a field officer for African Agricultural Technology Foundation ( AATF), in charge of Siaya,  Kisumu, Homabay and Migori Counties, lamented that farmers have been incurring huge losses over years occasioned by the striga weed infestation in their farms. He however expressed optimism that frequent use of the new FRC 425 IR seed variety will help farmers reduce and eradicate striga weed thus increase their crop yield by 80% or even 100% Addressing farmers in from the region, the field officer explained that AATF in partnership with other organizations like USAID and FINTRAC, they have been conducting a research for the last five years to find a solution of controlling the Striga weed that is viable to stay in the soil for up to 20 years. Mr. Willis Odhoch Achola , a farmer who has  2 acres farm land expressed his disappointment after the weed infested his farm and has no hopes of reaping any harvest this season . Striga weed is a parasitic weed that seriously constrains the productivity of cereal crops such as maize sorghum, millet, rice by attaching itself to the root of the host crop thus siphoning nutrients   from the host crop for its own growth. It causes 20% to 80 % crop yield loss and sometimes a total crop failure in severe infestation.  

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