The Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) has partnered with Kenya Red Cross to train farmers in Bomet County on how to use weather information properly to improve their farming activities.
The County Director of Meteorological Services Constance Okuku, while addressing an agricultural stakeholders meeting in Bomet town, said part of the training will entail enlightening farmers on the correct interpretation of weather forecast information including reading rain patterns and seasons and temperate levels to enable them make informed decisions.
He said such information would also be useful to farmers during post-harvest management, especially during the drying of grains.
For instance, farmers dealing with grains would not be getting out their produce, when equipped with information over a possibility of rains.
On his part, Vincent Sakwa from the same office said besides training, farmers will also be supplied with frequent weather information to help them plan better.
“It is apparent that farmers here are planting their crops without considering weather information that is very useful,” he said.
Sakwa reiterated that weather information is key in farming, regretting that for a long time, farmers in Bomet County have relied on traditional weather forecasting methods, leading to low yields and at times huge losses on their farm produce.
“Farmers have insisted on sticking with their traditional weather patterns and we want to change the notion because this is where we are failing,” Sakwa added.
The guesswork that has consumed farmers’ fortune over the years, will be a thing of the past since farmers will now be able to know when to plant, weed, spray and, harvest their crops, noted Sakwa.
Speaking at the same forum, one of the farmers present Zephania Yegon from Nogirwet, Chepalungu Sub County said climate change had altered weather patterns affecting their farming activities.
“From our initial knowledge, planting seasons came at particular months and we have stuck to that, but unfortunately bad weather has always hit our produce leading to massive losses,” he said.
Yegon said due to ignorance of the changing weather patterns, occasioned by climate change, many local farmers were still relying on traditional weather patterns, adding that poor yields had driven many out of farming into other ventures.
On the other hand, yet another farmer Alice Langat said she gave up on agribusiness after registering losses for three consecutive years.
“I failed to plant my crops at the right time and encountered subsequent losses, forcing me to quit and focus on livestock farming,” she said.
By Lamech Willy
