Kenyan government to invest US$5.7mn in farming equipment
Farmers in Mandera, Kenya will benefit from new farming machinery and tools to construct irrigation canals, according to agriculture director Bernard Okutu
Agriculture director Bernard Okutu stated that the majority of the US$5.7mn budget for Mandera's agricultural sector will be used to purchase farm machinery and build irrigation canals.
New maize varieties given approval in Kenya
The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has approved three new maize varieties that are resistant to the deadly necrosis disease
The Tumaini 1 variety, also known as Type Wei 101, will soon be released to Kenyan farmers and has been deemed suitable to farmers in Bomet, Nakuru and Narok counties as well as areas in the lower eastern part of the East African country.
KEPHIS has bred the new variety in collaboration with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI),
Researchers devise aflatoxin test kit for Kenyan farmers
Researchers at Egerton University in Kenya have collaborated with the University of Colorado to develop a simple aflatoxin kit that will help farmers in the field control food poisoning
The project, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has allowed researchers to create a simple kit which will allow farmers to carry out tests on their grains before marketing to ascertain quality.
“The procedure involves crushing grains and then mixing with ethanol.
Ecobank Group to strengthen Kenyan subsidiary
Togolese-based Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has announced plans to revamp its operations in Kenya by injecting fresh capital. The idea is to make Ecobank Kenya, the group’s hub in the East Africa region. This comes at a time when Ecobank Kenya, is gaining its foothold in Kenya after acquiring the former East African Building Society (EABS).
