Agriculture in Kenya
[8] Cotesia flavipes is a parasitoid also from C. partellus's native home of Pakistan which has been released here by Overholt et al. to serve as a biocontrol.
The yellow-fleshed sweet potato's popularity has increased, due to nutritionists promoting it as a source of vitamin A, which is lacking in the Kenyan diet.
[9] The vitamin A deficiency is not fatal, but it leaves the immune system depleted and susceptible to measles, malaria and diarrhoea.
[10] Where farmers piecemeal their sweet potato harvest, there can be up to a 10 percent crop loss due to disease and weevils.
[11] Roughly half of Kenya's 127 flower farms are concentrated around Lake Naivasha, 90 kilometers northwest of Nairobi.
[11] Kenya's roses, carnations and summer flowers are also popular in Russia and the U.S.[11] Small growers are able to increase crop yields significantly by following simple guidelines, such as proper pruning.
"[3] When the sweet potato plant is propagated a number of consecutive times, the yield decreases and virus build-up increases.
However, with effect from 2003, NIB handed over to stakeholders responsibility for most services, except for the development, O & M and rehabilitation of the major irrigation facilities.
They utilize high technology and produce high-value crops for the export market, especially flowers and vegetables.
To decrease labour for weeding, farmers interviewed by Macharia (2004) expressed preference for planting on mounds after trying ridges.
[15] Many farmers in Kenya refer to genetically modified (GM) maize delivered by the US as the Trojan horse.
Some activists have said that the US is purposefully sending GM food as aid to undercut the organic export market and cause Europe to start buying from the US.
To increase production and boost profits, many small-scale farmers in Kenya are adopting greenhouse farming.
Greenhouse farming in Kenya enables farmers to use less agricultural inputs (including labor and fertilizers) and control pests and diseases.
Most Kenyan greenhouses utilize drip irrigation to maximize the use of the available water and efficiently deliver nutrients to their crops.
KARI promotes sound agricultural research, technology generation and dissemination to ensure food security through improved productivity and environmental conservation.
In 1986, the Kenyan government recognised the challenge to meet long-term food production constraints in the country.
[26] Likewise, the government has set up some study institutions to aid in research projects in order to alleviate poverty, reduce unemployment and fight malnutrition.
In response, the community of Kuruwitu village in Kilifi County set up their own no-take area in 2003, referred to as a tengefu.
