Substituting maize with sorghum, millet and pigeon peas

PHOTO:COURTESY

Substituting maize with sorghum, millet, pigeon-peas, cow-peas and green grams has helped farmers in Busia County overcome effects of failure of short rains last year.

 The International Crop Research for Semi-Arid Tropic (ICRISAT) in collaboration with the Busia county government and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has found out that with the failure of rains in the March-July and August-December seasons last year, farmers who planted maize have been most affected.

The three organisations now train farmers on good agricultural practices, post-harvest handling and value addition, and has provided quality seeds of improved varieties.