Farmers told to plant short season crops ahead of El Nino rains

The Ministry of Environment has launched a programme to equip farmers in key food-producing regions with climate-smart farming skills to help them take advantage of the anticipated El Nino rains.

Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa urged farmers to embrace climate-smart agriculture and plant short-season crops to help cushion the country against the effects of widespread maize crop failure caused by prolonged drought.

Dr Barasa said the ministry is working with farmer groups across the country to enhance their knowledge of climate-smart agriculture, value addition and sustainable food production under changing climatic conditions.

She noted that the government has adopted a multi-sectoral approach to support farmers following the failed maize season, which is expected to result in a significant decline in national maize production.

“We have employed a multi-sectoral approach to support farmers to enhance production through climate-smart agriculture, and I encourage farmers to take advantage of the expected El Niño rains to grow short-term crops,” she said during an event at Maridadi Primary School.

Dr Barasa who was accompanied by environmental stakeholders on Friday, announced plans to use the expected El Niño season to accelerate the national tree-planting campaign.

“We anticipate El Niño, and we encourage Kenyans, especially farmers, to plant more trees this season. We are preparing a series of activities ahead of the rains to support tree-planting efforts across the country,” she said.

Her remarks come amid a sharp decline in maize production, with the government considering a subsidy programme to support farmers willing to plant short-season crops and recover from drought-related losses.

Two weeks ago, Agriculture Principal Secretary Paul Rono, during a tour of drought-affected areas in Trans Nzoia County, said the government was consulting stakeholders on measures to assist farmers who had suffered losses due to the prolonged drought.

He said the government was deeply concerned about the maize crop failure, warning that it poses a serious threat to the country's food security.

“The government is considering helping farmers, especially those who can return to farming and grow other short-maturity crops. We are working on support measures, including subsidies,” Rono said after a strategy meeting at Kenya Seed Company headquarters in Kitale on July 23.

The PS, accompanied by members of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Agriculture and officials from KEPHIS, AFA, FAO, ADC and Kenya Seed Company, said the Ministry of Agriculture is conducting a comprehensive survey to guide timely and targeted support for affected farmers.

He noted that both seed growers and commercial maize producers had been adversely affected by the crop failure.

Rono urged farmers to return to their farms and plant alternative short-season crops, describing the current situation as devastating.

“We had planned to double food production by ensuring farm inputs reached farmers on time, but the drought has dealt us a major setback. We had projected a harvest of about 80 million bags of maize this year,” he said.

According to the PS, about 10 per cent of farmers in the South Rift, 30 per cent in the North Rift, and 20 per cent of seed maize farmers have been affected by the crop failure.