Kisian residents in Kisumu County have been urged to start cultivating hybrid maize breeds for them realise maximum yields as opposed to traditional breeds.
Speaking in the area on Sunday, during a workshop to educate farmers on how to market their farm produce, Agricultural Growers Resource Organisation Developing Economic Viability (AGRODEV) Kisumu coordinator Silus Okoth, said many farmers in the area still depend on traditional maize breeds which do yield a lot, therefore underutilising their farms.
“Many people complain about poor yields and we end up blaming factors such as climate for this. However our research shows that a big number uses traditional maize breeds. I would like to urge you to grow hybrid maize because in this current era it is the best,” said Okoth.
Okoth said that many small scale farmers have held the notion that, hybrid maize is meant for large scale production and it was time to squash the belief.
“What we don’t understand is that even a small parcel of land can give high maize yields which can support us throughout a long period of time,” added Okoth.
He said that planting hybrid maize will be beneficial as the farmers will be in a position to produce enough for their families and the surplus can be sold and the earnings can be used to support households.
He added that, the area is fertile with ambient conditions to support the maize variety, and therefore farmers should take full advantage.