In the last few decades, Alex Maranga has seen the yield of his farmland increase and then go into decline weighed down by the vagaries of climate change.
Today, the 68-year-old peasant farmer is happy, being part of a growing rural community in Nakuru that has embraced alizeti, the local name for sunflower and advanced the production of the cash crop by manufacturing and marketing edible oil from the seeds.
“Intercropping alizeti with maize, beans and peas is the new normal in this area. When the other crops fail due to drought as is often the case nowadays- we live off sunflower to extract cooking oil and feed chicken, Mr Maranga tells Kenya News Agency, as he watches his wife Joyce, winnowing dried sunflower seeds at their Kimang’u village within Visoi Ward in Rongai Constituency.
Mr Maranga is a beneficiary of the County Government’s ambitious program to promote the cultivation of sunflower and canola (rapeseed), to reduce the import bill for edible oils and lower the prices of cooking oil in Kenya.
Efforts by the devolved unit have caught the attention of stakeholders as the County was ranked as the best in edible oil production and also graded third best in wheat production, during awards presented during the National Farmers Celebration Day in Uasin Gishu County.
Addressing the media in Nakuru, County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Mr Leonard Bor indicated that the recognition, was as a result of continuous efforts by the devolved unit to promote sunflower and other oil crops as emerging commercial and rotational crops to empower farmers economically upon the harvest.
“The county has so far distributed 45 tonnes of sunflower benefiting over 11,900 farmers. This will lead to over 20,000 acres under sunflower production with an expected yield of 3000 metric tonnes,” stated Bor.
The devolved unit’s administration has kicked off a campaign encouraging small holder farmers in the region, to take up oil crop cultivation whose huge unmet demand guarantees a ready local and international market.
Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that Kenya has an unmet demand for sunflower, canola, soya bean and linseed for both industrial and domestic needs.
Mr Bor stated that although the oil crops are drought resistant and adaptable to many ecological zones, Kenya is currently producing less than 50 percent of her needs.
Kenya spends at least Sh160 billion annually on importing edible oils from other countries mainly South-East Asian countries.
The CECM affirmed that Governor Susan Kihika’s administration has embarked on a sunflower and canola promotion project that aims to boost local production of the oil crops and address the cost of edible oils in the country.
Kenyan manufactures are grappling with huge deficits in production of Soya beans, canola, linseed and Sunflower. Key players, who manufacture edible oils locally, have resorted to importing Sunflower and Soya bean from Tanzania and Uganda to sustain processing demand.
The CECM indicated that farmers can also process sunflower and canola seeds at household levels into cooking oil.
Linseed which does not yield edible oil is used for Industrial purposes.
Mr Bor pledged that the county government is determined to have farmers access quality oil crop seeds and enhance agriculture extension services for farmers towards increasing edible oil products.
He observed that the oil crops industries had the potential to create over 200,000 jobs in the devolved unit directly and indirectly through establishment of cottage industries and production of livestock feed.
Under the initiative, the county government is initiating public-private partnerships in distribution of certified planting material to farmers, subsidized fertilizer, provide market linkages and enhance value addition to boost farmers’ earnings.
According to data from the Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate under the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), Kenya produces only 34 percent of its edible oils and fat requirements, with the deficit being imported mainly from South East Asian countries.
According to AFA, the country remains a net importer of vegetable oils as local production has not grown to meet local demand, yet many oil seeds such as canola, sunflower, simsim, coconut and groundnuts can be grown and processed locally.
AFA has further indicated that the country’s import bill of edible oils has been increasing at an annual rate of 15 percent due to skyrocketing demand locally.
The Authority notes that Kenya consumes 900 metric tonnes of edible oils annually from which only six percent is sourced locally.
The CECM indicated that sunflower grows well in areas with sparse rainfall, and the soil should be slightly acidic with a pH of between 6.0 and 7.5.
Two main categories of sunflower-Hybrid Variety and Open Pollinated Variety (OPV) are grown in the country.
Several hybrid varieties which include Sunbeam, Mammoth, Autumn Beauty, Teddy Bear and Kenya Fedha, are grown in different parts of the country. They mature in three to four months.
Mr Bor explained that the hybrid varieties have higher oil content and better yields per acre averaging 25 bags, while Open Pollinated Varieties have an advantage that their seed can be recycled four times.
Sunflower by-products such as sunflower cake, have a ready market in the animal feeds manufacturers’ industries, stated the CECM. Farmers can make more profits, he added if they incorporate value addition in the enterprise as compared to selling the raw seed.
“Canola is grown for its highly nutritious oil, which is extracted from its seeds. The plant produces Omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids that are otherwise only found in fish and are known to prevent arthritis, diabetes and heart disease among many other health benefits.
Canola cakes are also highly nutritious for chicken and other domestic animals. Canola has only seven per cent cholesterol level, while sunflower oil has 12 per cent, olive oil has 15 per cent, maize oil has 20 per cent and coconut oil has 22 per cent. If you process 50 kilos of hybrid sunflower seed you get 16 litres of oil,” indicated the CECM.
He observed that Canola, a flower like plant of the cabbage family, takes between 80-150 days to mature, therefore, can be rotated with other common garden crops.
Bor stated that oil crops have been found to reduce erosion, improve soil water retention and lead to fewer weeds, pests and diseases. Oil crop yields, he says are 25 percent more compared to other crops.
The CECM said some crops are shallow rooted, especially the cereals. Canola, he added with its deep roots that go up to two feet into the ground, help in pumping nutrients to the top soil so that other crops use it.
The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Organization (KALRO) has developed about 14 varieties of canola.
By Jane Ngugi
