Farmers have been urged to embrace the use of certified seeds for improved agricultural yields in their farms.
Speaking during a sensitization drive on certified seeds in Nyando, the Maendeleo ya Wanawake branch Chairperson Atieno Otieno noted that farmers from the region are not knowledgeable on the varieties of seeds suitable for their areas and often than not use the wrong ones which impact negatively on their yields.
“Kisumu County has experienced inadequate food security because farmers are not well informed on the farming methods applicable in their regions. We still use rudimentary methods that sometime are not able to produce enough to support the populations from the region. Currently, most food crops consumed in the county come from Nandi and Kisii Counties yet we have the capacity to produce the same,” said Ms Otieno.
She added on to say there was need for farmers to embrace the use of certified seeds from accredited institutions which retails at subsidized rates and are affordable to farmers across board.
It is against this backdrop that the Maendeleo ya Wanawake Kisumu County branch has partnered with the Kenya Seeds Company Limited to capacity build farmers on the need to use certified seeds for improved yields.
The initiative that has so far been implemented in Nyando and Kisumu West sub-counties is expected to take shape in all the sub counties within the larger Kisumu County.
Elizabeth Rerimo, the Corporate Communication Officer with the Kenya Seeds Company lauded the initiative that has so far given them a stepping stone to interact with the groups of farmers who are majorly women from the region and also to access their capacity in the process.
“We are targeting both the smallholder and large scale farmers in our effort to bring improved seed varieties in the market for food security. Kenya Seeds Company has over 60 seed varieties of certified seeds that include maize, wheat, sunflower, finger millet, horticultural seeds and legumes that is consumed by farmers both for commercial purposes and in subsistence farming, “said Ms Rerimo
“Through the Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization, we have acquired a two-acre farm in Nyando area that will be used for demonstration purposes and we expect the farmers engaged in the activities to replicate the same in their farms. These practical sessions will also be offered in all the implementation areas of the initiative,” she said.
The initiative that was rolled out on a group basis has so far attracted over 500 farmers both men and women and organizations such as the Hindu Society of Kenya, Ahero Farmers’ Cooperative Society and other retailers who have pledged to be a market to the produce.