The Occurrence of Cereal Aphids in Rainfed Wheat in Kenya: The Problem and Possible Integrated Pest Management Strategies

Cereal aphids cause direct damage to rainfed wheat through sucking of plants sap and cause losses of up to 90%, particularly in dry years in Kenya. The Russian wheat aphid (RWA) is the most destructive and may account for up to 50% yield loss or more depending on the severity and length of infestation. Current control strategies mainly rely on the use of insecticides to control cereal aphids’ infestations. Chemicals improve yields in the short term, but adversely affect the environment, hence the need for development of effective IPM strategies. Early planted crops escape heavy aphid attacks and give good yields. A combination of seed rate of 100 kg and 100 kg N/ha provided the best cultural management of RWA. Ladybird beetles Adonia variegata, lacewings (Chrysoppa spp.) and parasitic wasp Aphidius sp. were the most important natural enemies. Control of cereal aphids can be achieved with systemic insecticides applied as seed dressings or foliar applied insecticides. Four lines of wheat were found to show RWA resistance and crosses with Kenyan wheat made and populations are being evaluated for resistance to cereal aphids

An analysis of factors influencing farmers’ choice of green gram marketing channels in Mbeere south sub-county, Kenya

This study sought to contribute to a better understanding of market dynamics of green grams as a traditional crop within a resource poor producer community in Mbeere South sub-County, Kenya. The study aimed to characterize the green gram marketing channels and to evaluate the factors that influence the choice of green gram marketing channel by the producers. A multinomial logit model was estimated through data from households growing green grams. Results show that 70 percent of farmers in the study site grew green grams. On average, each household has 1 to 2 acres of land under green grams production each year. Farmers used three marketing channels, rural retailers (58 percent), wholesalers (14 percent) and assemblers (26 percent). The multinomial results showed that Age of the farmer (P=0.06), access to credit (p=0.065), price of green grams (p=0.079), and selling as individuals (p=0.000) positively influenced the choice of rural assembler marketing channel. Gender of the household head (p=0.001), production cost (p=0.000) and use of mobile phone to access marketing information (p=0.019) positively influenced the probability of choosing rural retailer over wholesaler marketing channel. In conclusion, farmers prefer marketing channels where they incur low production and transport cost and that offer higher prices to maximize profits. The study recommended first, identification and prioritization of unique farmer-trader relations that enhance adaptive resilience and increase farmers marketing options. Secondly, interventions to enhance market-based signals e.g. price should be reinforced

Making agri-food systems work for the rural poor in Eastern and Southern Africa

PowerPoint presentationThe presentation by the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) focuses on pro-poor food security innovations. Recent mapping of crop value chains by KARI has yielded results where a diverse set of minor crops (millets, sorghum, green grams, cow peas and pigeon peas) are highly ranked. With climate change, major food crops like maize often fail and returns are low. Farmers need alternatives such as locally important, underutilized or neglected crops. Consultative stakeholders’ workshops were held in all three study sites of this project, taking note of farmers’ crop selections for diversification of their agricultural produce

Preface : challenges and opportunities for enhancing food security in Kenya

Achieving sustainable food security in Sub- Saharan Africa is one of the main challenges facing African governments and the international community. The 2007– 2008 food crisis and ongoing chronic hunger problems clearly demonstrate that millions of people on the continent, including in relatively stable countries such as Kenya, are dangerously vulnerable to economic, political and climatic shocks that threaten food availability and accessibility. At the heart of the strategies to build resilience and tackle food insecurity is the need for effective institutional and policy frameworks that can support local innovations while taking into account the biophysical, social and economic constraints within which rural livelihoods operate. The papers included in this Special Issue of Food Security support the view that for food security initiatives in Kenya to be effective, they must embrace solutions that are equitable, generalizable and ecologically sound to ensure sustainability. Ultimately, to improve innovation and technology adoption, a systems approach that allows women and men, wealthy and poor farmers to engage with scientific and political elites in the design and implementation of food-related research and development initiatives must be embraced. There is also the need to develop tools and approaches that can assist smallholder farmers, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders to share a better understanding of the multiple factors driving food insecurity and hindering the implementation of effective policies and institutions