The yields from Rosemary Oganga's one acre-farm in Siaya County have increased from almost nothing to four bags even though she did not have to till the farm or use fertilizers. She is among several other farmers in western Kenya who benefited from conservation agriculture through which growers suppress weeds using an environmentally-friendly chemical instead of traditional weeding. A novel technology, Conservation Agriculture, has seen a considerable increase in output per acre and cut production costs. As opposed to the traditional ploughing method, the technology keeps the farm moist through retention of crop residues that also prevent soil erosion.
The technology focuses mainly on sustainable production of crops under intensive cultivation of land where two crops, a legume and a cereal are inter-cropped twice a year. It comes hot on the heels of a food crisis and dwindling fortunes for maize farmers in Western Kenya following an outbreak of a deadly disease that wiped out the crop last season.
In Summary, the system involves use of eco-friendly chemicals to root out unwanted plants instead of the traditional and costly weeding.
For more, available on: