New fertiliser variety to boost rice production

Rice production in the country is poised to more than double in the next two years following the launch of a new fertiliser variety.

Referred to as Kynoch, the fertiliser is said to be crop-specific, development rice farmers say would transform the sector that has suffered from sub-standard inputs for years.

“This variety is also soil specific. This means different areas would have distinct types of a blend of fertilisers that fit their needs,” said Edwin Nyabiba, the Commercial Manager of Exporting Trade Group, the multinational behind the input.

Mr Nyabiba spoke in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, where he held sessions with rice farmers on fertiliser application.

He said the drive behind the new sort of fertiliser was to get farmers out of the low production zone and empower them economically.

“Besides the expanded yields, Kynoch-applied rice crops have strong stems, which cushion them from weather vagaries and unexpected floods,” he explained.

In a rice field of an acre, the Commercial Manager says the traditional fertilisers such as DAP and CAN can help produce an average of between 20 and 25 bags as compared to Kynoch’s 45 to 50 bags.

“KynoNafaka which is a planting fertiliser, for instance, is coated with Avail, a technology that reduces fixation of applied Phosphorus making it more available to plants even in low pH,” he added.

Mr Nyabiba said Avail technology had been proven to keep up to 45 per cent more of applied Phosphorus available to plants.

But it is not in rice alone where the multinational has invested in.

The firm’s Country Director Lewis Giles says research is continually being conducted to come up with high quality but affordable inputs that would make farmers produce more from grains, cereals to horticulture “to help the Government drive its food stability agenda”.

Mr Giles said already new fertiliser brands have been invented to enhance production and make different crops such as maize, beans, fruits, vegetable, flowers, sugarcane, among others disease and pest tolerant.

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