The severe 2020 – 2023 East African drought killed over 9.5 million livestock in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia by March of last year. This has caused a 48 per cent spike in the price of beef products since 2019, when a kilogram of beef retailed for Sh422. The number of livestock fit for slaughter for …
Oilseed processor Rafikipay Ltd is looking to recruit 1,000 sunflower out-growers in Tharaka and Bura Irrigation Scheme. The farmers will be given free sunflower cultivation training and agronomic support then hybrid seeds on credit before being enlisted on a one-year contract between 2024-2025. According to company founder Joshua Gitonga, the Meru-based company is among Kenya’s …
Meru oilseed processor recruiting 1,000 sunflower farmers to plug waning production Read More »
Since its classification as a superfruit in the early 2000s the global blueberry market is one of the few horticulture sectors that has seen consistently rising demand and prices. The volume of global imported blueberries has grown from 66, 000 tons in 2002 to 779, 000 tons in 2021– a 14 per cent annual growth …
Kenyan growers cash in on ideal weather for world’s fastest-growing superfruit Read More »
In one year, the price of F1 onion hybrid seeds has doubled from about Sh20,000 a kilogram to an average of Sh40,000. According to seed retailers, this has been driven by the high cost of imports, including hybrid seeds, caused by a weakened shilling. Until its recent rally, the Kenyan shilling had lost 28 per …
Hybrid onion seed prices double on increased import costs & high demand Read More »
An increase in tomato seedling sellers in Kenya is moderating prices by ensuring a consistent supply of tomatoes in markets. This is avoiding prolonged periods of the fruit’s scarcity and continued high prices, as well as reducing the need for brokers shipping tomatoes in from neighbouring countries. Previously, the expertise and financing required to propagate …
Increased seedling sellers keeping tomato prices down Read More »
Kenya’s first sugar beet processing company is looking to increase its farmer base from 320 to 1,000 at the end of the year. In a month, Ranges Sugar Factory, in Nyandarua County, will start to crash 50 tons of sugar beets from its farmers to produce about 10 tons of sugar daily. With increased farmer …
Kenya’s first sugar beet processor to recruit 650 farmers Read More »
Through capitalising on the demand for the indigenous spider plant (saga/saget) in neighbouring Kisumu and Eldoret counties, the Nyamira North Women Sacco has been able to earn its members Sh77,500 weekly. Saga, as it is often known, is among the many previously abandoned but nutrient-rich traditional African vegetables that have found their way back onto …
Nyamira women make Sh77K a week from spider plants Read More »
Five thousand kilometers apart, Soko Fresh in Kenya and Colb Hubs in Nigeria, are using solar-powered cold stations to store and preserve horticultural produce. This is helping farmers in both countries reduce their post-harvest losses by over 80 per cent and increase their earnings by at least 20 per cent. Though less highlighted, Africa’s fruit …
Nigeria, Kenya horticulture farmers raise incomes 20% through cold storage Read More »
Savvy green maize farmers are utilising maize transplanting to beat other growers to market, doubling their profits. Over 90 per cent of Kenyan farmers rely on the rains for irrigation. This means that there’s a definite farming calendar. “The next bulk green maize harvest or mukohoro as it is often referred to in markets will …
Green maize farmers double profits through transplanting Read More »
The price of local Kenyan hard wheat is set to rise 40% on limited supplies, as that of imported soft wheat tumbles due to record harvests in Russia. Kenyan retail wheat and flour are made up of a blend of 70 per cent soft wheat– largely from Russia and 30 per cent locally souced hard …
Markets: Local wheat prices to rise 40% on limited supplies, as imports fall Read More »