Invest more in irrigation schemes, this is crucial

JKUAT students from left to right Martin Bakuni, Allan Mwangi and Pramilla Nekesa harvest indigenous vegetables grown under sensor irrigation machine. [Jenipher Wachie, Standard]

Kenya’s weather patterns are changing. The change in rainfall patterns has a huge impact on Kenya because 98 per cent of the country’s agriculture is rain fed. The major challenge that farmers face is timing. It is critical for them to know when rains start and stop so that they know when to plant or harvest their crops.

Most parts of Kenya experience two rain seasons; March to May’s long rains and October to December’s short ones. The months of June to August are mainly cool and dry over most parts of the country, except for some areas in the western region that get rain.