Mutahi Kagwe from the Agriculture Department says farmers take home about 180,000 bags of fertilizer every day from the National Cereals Board stores across Kenya. He shared this news on Monday and explained how the huge demand comes from better awareness about government programs that make fertilizer cheaper. The number of crop farmers signed up with the Kenya farm system jumped higher than the last growing season, reaching almost 6 million people right before planting time.
Kagwe noticed that many farmers who tried the program before wanted twice as much fertilizer this time around. He believes this points toward an upcoming huge harvest that will help feed the country and cut down on food bought from other nations. The government sent trucks to refill supplies at storage centers because farmers kept asking for more. Kagwe told the Cereals Board they must start preparing equipment to dry and store important crops like corn and wheat after harvest time arrives.
He also reminded farmers to apply Aflasafe treatments from research stations to stop poison mold from growing on corn and peanuts during storage. These chemicals help keep harvested food safe for everyone to eat later in the year. The rainy growing season just started this month throughout Kenya and will keep going until around the end of May, when farmers start thinking about harvest plans.
Kagwe noticed that many farmers who tried the program before wanted twice as much fertilizer this time around. He believes this points toward an upcoming huge harvest that will help feed the country and cut down on food bought from other nations. The government sent trucks to refill supplies at storage centers because farmers kept asking for more. Kagwe told the Cereals Board they must start preparing equipment to dry and store important crops like corn and wheat after harvest time arrives.
He also reminded farmers to apply Aflasafe treatments from research stations to stop poison mold from growing on corn and peanuts during storage. These chemicals help keep harvested food safe for everyone to eat later in the year. The rainy growing season just started this month throughout Kenya and will keep going until around the end of May, when farmers start thinking about harvest plans.
