Why nuclear energy should be part of Africa’s energy mix

Africa has the least nuclear power of any continent in the world

By Mbaka 6 years ago

Energy Security: Is Kenya ready for Nuclear power?

The Pros and Cons of the Nuclear Option

By Mbaka 7 years ago

Why Kenya cannot cede ground in Somalia maritime row

Offshore Somalia is divided into three basins, mainly the Obbia basin in the north, Cariole basin and the Juba-Lamu basin.

By Mbaka 7 years ago

Toxic peanut butter big wake up call to farmers

Care should be taken when using hand hoes to avoid injury to the pods

By Mbaka 7 years ago

Trap crop: Smart bait for water melon flies

By planting rows of a trap crop near to your vegetables the pests will be attracted to the trap crop and leave your main crops alone

By Mbaka 7 years ago

When your plants try to deliver a message

It is important to know what the normal appearance of a plant is before you decide there is a problem.

By Mbaka 7 years ago

Just like you, soil too needs a change in diet

Crop rotation isn’t a new concept but if done right, it is the best bet to improved yields.

By Mbaka 7 years ago

Try bamboo and forget about pests, poor rains

All you need to start a bamboo farm is land and right information. What is more encouraging is that this amazing grass-like plant grows anywhere.

By Mbaka 7 years ago

Flame as a weed control method

Weeding under this method is done by generat¬ing intense heat through torch that scorches the leaves of the weeds.

By Mbaka 7 years ago

Oh yes! You can rear fish on your balcony

Aquaponics allows fish and plants to be produced nearly anywhere, including warehouses, roof tops, basements and balconies

By Mbaka 8 years ago

Yes, basil has a rich international market

The herb has received a lot of attention from farmers due to burgeoning market demand from Europe and United Arab Emirates.

By Mbaka 8 years ago

No space? You can grow crops in buckets

With this technology, farmers will maximise crop yields and use resources like water and land economically

By Mbaka 8 years ago

Forget chemicals! Here are safe ways to ripen fruits

When I was growing up in the village, I used to see my grandmother store bananas by covering them with dry banana leaves. Sometimes, she would keep the bananas in a room near the cooking place where fire was lit regularly. She did this to hasten ripening.

By Mbaka 8 years ago

Fret not when your maize fails, french beans will do!

As the outcry against the ravaging fall army pest in maize continues, farmers should not lose hope. This is because they can on rotational basis grow French beans.

By Mbaka 8 years ago

Yes, it is possible to grow big juicy water melons

Is there a ‘secret’ to growing water melons? This is the question one reader asked me recently.

By Mbaka 8 years ago

Why your passion fruits may not be fruity and juicy

Over the last few weeks passion fruit farmers have been asking questions about their crop. Why are the flowers of my crop falling over?

By Mbaka 8 years ago

A to Z of growing big and healthy onions

Last week, I got an e-mail from Tony, a regular Smart Harvest reader. Tony wanted to know how to grow big bulb onions.

By Mbaka 8 years ago

Watch out for late blight during this wet weather

For the last three weeks, tomato and potato farmers have had crazy weather. Heavy rains come with lots of problems.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

The ABCD of planting strawberries

Where rainfall is less than this, irrigation should be used. Plant the runners 35 cm apart in a staggered fashion with 35 cm between rows.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

The ABCD of strawberry growing

All you need to ensure is that the growing bag or container should have good drainage holes at the bottom or multiple holes throughout the container.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Growing tomatoes with no soil, no weeds, less water

Tired of soil borne diseases that have been ruining their tomato yields, some farmers are adopting the soil-less farming technology.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Simple ways to contain deadly fallarmy worm

“We have never seen anything like this. The moth eats the crop so fast we have been unable to contain it,” a farmer in Soy complained.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Want to supply mbogas to the supermarkets? Prepare to impress

Buying fresh vegetables and fruits in supermarkets is now the trend. Love them or hate them the supermarkets are taking over the fresh produce markets.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Watch out for these diseases during the wet season

When rains come, farmers rejoice because it is a good thing. But even with this blessing called rains, there’s a downside. Excessive moisture can cause a number of problems for gardeners — crop diseases.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Wait a minute! Are those seeds fake or genuine?

The planting season is fast approaching and seed sellers are at it again — deceiving unsuspecting farmers. Season after season farmers have been complaining about the quality of seeds on sale.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

My greenhouse cost Sh500,000 now it’s a shell, what to do?

It was a venture meant to change fortunes of hundreds of farmers. The ‘magic house’ that was what farmers were told.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Careful, there’s more to fertiliser application than just digging it in

Following last week’s article on ‘how ready are you for the planting season?’ Several farmers asked me to go deeper on soil enrichment.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

How ready are you for planting?

The dry spell is almost over, farmers will be going back to the fields. The fact that many farmers have only weekends to get to the field, a little advance work can make farming this year easier.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Galana-Kulalu project bad idea

The first major irrigation project in Africa was undertaken during the reign of King Menes of the First Dynasty in Egypt, 3,000 years before the era of Jesus Christ.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

If you value your customers, stop ripening fruits using chemicals

Calcium carbide is a strong reactive chemical, with carcinogenic properties. Being cheap and easily available, it is indiscriminately being used in preference to other recommended practices by inducing ripening in fruits.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

The secret to low post-harvest losses while growing vegetables

Fresh vegetables are extremely perishable and have relatively short shelf lives. Being able to maintain a level of freshness from the field to the dinner table presents many challenges.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Palm oil farming is a juicy business if you get basics right

In my work as an extension services expert, of late I have noticed many farmers asking about production of palm oil having heard there is a solid demand.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Bamboo: Is this the next big thing in farming?

Bamboo a “wonder plant” that is inimitably blessed. Agronomists believe it can restore degraded landscapes while economists think it is a potential “green gold,” and a silver bullet for design and architecture that is already attracting a global market.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Counties, CRA reach deal on funds

County governments got a reprieve after the High Court allowed them to access half of their equitable share of funds from the national government, just a day after warning that they were unable to pay July salaries.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Planning to start a farm? Get it right

All that’s left is to trade in your suit and tie for sturdy boots and a dilapidated hat. Welcome to the world of farming! Kenya needs nutritious food, and that requires thoughtful, intelligent people to grow it.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Marketing 101: How to sell your farm yield

Selling your crops successfully starts with making sure your products are fresh and healthy. No matter where you sell, customers want high quality.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

How to apply little fertiliser, and still harvest more

Minute amounts of fertiliser are regularly metered into the irrigation lines and distributed along with the irrigation water through the sprinkler heads.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Tomato ‘Ebola’ alert! Are your crops safe?

As the outcry against the ravaging Tuta absoluta disease of tomato continues to resonate in West Africa (Nigeria), farmers locally need to take precaution to avoid losses due to this menace.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

Farmers brace for the worst as rains stop mid season

Climate change is increasingly visible in Kenya and it plays a huge role in agriculture as it threatens production. Smallholder farmers depend on natural resources like rain, sunlight and soil for their production activities.

By Mbaka 9 years ago

When dreaded flies invade your farm

In greenhouses, white flies can be devastating. They congregate on the underside of leaves, where they lay eggs, suck out the plant’s fluids and inject toxic saliva.

By Mbaka 9 years ago