Agriculture of Central Kenya Research Update
Agriculture of Central Kenya
Research Update
The Course Breakdowns
2 Courses Beginner Course
Informative Basic Methods/Techniques Advanced Methods/Techniques
Hands-on Basic Only
Advanced Course Hands-on
Advanced Methods/Techniques
Corn
Spacing 1 to 4 plants per square foot
Depth 1 to 2 inches deep
Several seeds per hole (about 4)
Harvesting Each Stalk should produce at least 1 large ear of corn Harvest about 20 days after the appearance of silk
strands Kernels are fully formed but not yet fully mature
Eat, process, or refrigerate as soon as possible How does type of corn vary each process? Processing for livestock versus people?
Coffee
Planted in nursery beds until they are about 7 to 15 inches, then transferred to the fields Rotted cattle manure is used in the fields (1 liter
per square foot) First Harvest
About 5 years after first planting Single tree produces only about 2 lbs of coffee Good harvest will produce about 2500 to 3500
lbs of coffee Harvest is during the dry season
Coffee used for trade? How is it prepared for trade?
Wheat
Spacing Use a rake/plow to make furrows in the field Sprinkle about 90 to 100 lbs of wheat seed per
acre Depth
Best yield is at depth of ½ inch to 1 ½ inches Harvesting
Use a scythe and chop the wheat leaving 2 to 3 inches of stubble sticking out of the ground
Bundle the wheat together into stooks Threshing - using a flail to beat the wheat out of
the straw Get rid of the chaff (outer shell) Yields about a quart of wheat per stook
Tea
Tea comes from an evergreen shrub/bush that can grow up to 55 meters high but is usually kept below 6 feet
Harvesting Tea Higher quality tea requires only the bud and
second and third leaves to be plucked Typical tea bush will produce 3000 leaves a
year, which makes about 1 pound of processed tea
The type of tea depends on the type of processing What type of tea?
Weed Control
Manual and Mechanical Techniques – more labor intensive Tilling the ground Pulling the weeds Mowing, Brush-cutting, Weed eating Stabbing, damaging the carbohydrate storage structure Mulching
Herbicides – more expensive Determining what herbicides are needed?
Biological Control Use animals, fungi, or other microbes to feed upon
weeds Which type to use?
How not to damage crop yield Does control process depend on weed types?
Irrigation Methodology – Treadle Pump Application used often in East India Foot operated pump used for smaller plots of
land Low cost, easy maintenance Farmers can take what is needed only
No waste water
2 types of pumps Pressure (deep water) and Suction (shallow water)
Cost 100 USD
Irrigation Methodology – Flood Irrigation Cost effective method
Depending on land, can use gravity fee Can level ground for efficiency
Potentially a lot of wasted water Can flood at intervals to prevent this Can capture and reuse waste water
Unavoidable challenges during drought
Irrigation Methodology – Drip Irrigation Applies water continuously at a slow rate
Uses less water
More complicated system (than flood or treadle) System could get clogged routine
maintenance is needed Purity of water needed to prevent rusting
within system
Pest Control – Push Pull Method
Push – Pull Method Used primarily with maize Inter-plants silverleaf desmodium with
Sudan grass and maize Silverleaf repels pests (maize stemborer) Grass attracts pests
Produces sticky substance that traps and kills eggs produced by pests
Pest Control – Push Pull Method (2)
Can also be applied using different repellents and attracts on other things.
Pest Control – Push Pull Method (3)
Advantages Minimizes agro-chemicals Food security Increases income if crops are sold
Disadvantages Used often on a smaller scale (.5 acre plots) and
can be costly Requires much more maintenance after
implementation
Growing Livestock
Skills needed for growth: Labor for expanding and growing herd
Feeding and watering, mating Understanding of energy production and use
from the livestock Slaughtering, milking, production of manure
Growing Livestock (2)
Types of livestock in Kenya Cattle
80% of livestock, 90% of market production Sheep/Goats Pigs Poultry Camel
Use of Fertilizers
Goal to increase crop yield and soil fertility
Crops need 16 essential nutrients for growth
A mixture of organic and inorganic methods higher yield
Use of Fertilizers (2)
Organic Introducing livestock waste, compost, crop
residue, waste to crops Can be easily done in eco-village
In-organic Commercially produced Contain nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium Need higher amount of energy to produce
Additional Questions
Irrigation Management
Pest Control Community Assessment
What method of pesticide control do you use, if any? What skills are needed to maintain these methods of pest control
Livestock Community assessment
Estimation of how much livestock is needed per unit of population in the village
How does climate effect livestock?
Fertilizers When is the best time to apply fertilizers? How often are fertilizers applied? Community Assessment
What types of commercial fertilizers are used?