Farmers in western region have been advised to purchase farm inputs in advance, so as to be able to plant in time at the onset of the rainfall early next month.
The Kenya Seed Company’s (KSC) Head of Strategy and Business Development, Fred Oloibe said there is need to obtain the seeds from the depots and licensed stockists in order to avoid counterfeits.
Oloibe said that farmers can ascertain the authenticity of the seeds by scratching the lot number to a code inside the packet.
He was speaking during a Kenya Seed Company Ltd Golf Tournament hosted at the Kakamega Sports Club on Saturday.
“We are using this tourney as an opportunity to educate the farmers about the latest crop varieties and appropriate farming technologies for optimal production,” he said.
The officer stated that planting has to be done at the onset of long rainfall in early March as experience has shown that crop yield reduces due to late planting.
He said the company has come up with seeds that are suitable for each agro-ecological zone so that no region is disadvantaged.
The head of strategy added that the company is planning to launch a pilot programme for crop insurance in Kakamega County so as to cushion the farmers against the effects of erratic weather.
The KSC Kakamega Branch Manager, Kate Lule said they have adequate stock of high-yielding varieties of among others maize, beans, sorghum, horticultural crops, sunflower and pasture.
Lule urged farmers to diversify their farming activities so as to avoid the loss associated with mono-cropping.
She said they will continue organizing field days, farm demos and golf sponsorships to reach out to the farmers with a view of updating them on the newest seed technologies.
By Sammy Mwibanda/Remigius Maloba
