Category Archives: Kenya

Learning visit: Moving towards certified seed potato production in Kenya’s North Rift
CIP / Countries / Crops / East Africa / Kenya / Partners / Regions / Value chains

Learning visit: Moving towards certified seed potato production in Kenya’s North Rift

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Story by Dinah Borus Decentralised seed potato multipliers and county officers in Kenya’s North Rift —part of Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) project—undertook an educational tour aimed at showcasing procedures and practises for producing certified seed. The tour, organised by AVCD-Potato project funded by USAID, took place from 5th to 7th … Continue reading →

Animal diseases / Animal Production / AVCD / Goats / ILRI / Kenya / Livelihoods / Livestock / Pastoralism / Small ruminants / Value chains

3 Tier Network managing livestock disease collectively, for better lives though livestock

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Through the 3-tier model, a network of trained community diseases reporters accessible at the village level has been created. Trained to be the first responders to animal health issues, they serve as an immediate resource for herders and are in position to respond to reports in multiple villages. Continue reading →

AVCD / CIP / Crops / Kenya / Value chains

Rekindling dreams: one clean potato seed at a time.

Posted on by • Leave a comment

This March in Nkuene ward, Meru County, potatoes were in flower, farmers were busy in their potato farms attending to their precious cash crop. Decentralised seed multipliers also known as Village Potato Advisors (VPAs) are busy too, doing a routine follow-up on farmers’ plots advising them on crop management of at this critical stage. Farm … Continue reading →

Animal Production / AVCD / Dairying / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Value chains

More Milk from new grass variety, changing breakfast tables for Dairy Farmers across Homa Bay County

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Between January and March, most of Western Kenya experiences a climatic dry period, when grass and other plants stop growing, forcing farmers to buy fodder from outside their area to feed their cows or face huge reductions in milk production. This year, the area has suffered from a pro-longed drought, with no rains since mid-November, … Continue reading →

Village potato advisor sees a brighter future in potato farming
AVCD / CIP / Countries / Crops / East Africa / Kenya / Partners / Regions / Value chains

Village potato advisor sees a brighter future in potato farming

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Written by Raymond Jumah and Dave Priest (FIPS-Africa) FIPS VPA Edward Kirinya harvesting the Sherekea potato variety. He planted 50 kg in July and has harvested 1,322 kg in November 2016. Photo: Raymond Jumah/FIPS-Africa A cool breeze sweeps across Kioru village in Abothuguchi West ward, bringing freshness to the otherwise misty agricultural highlands of Meru … Continue reading →

AVCD / Cattle / Dairying / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Livelihoods / PIL / Value chains

Stepping it up with farmers: Smallholders team up with researchers to improve dairy productivity in Kenya

Posted on by • Leave a comment

A group of farmers in Kisumu County of Kenya promise to lead the western region of Kenya as the next frontier in dairy production. So successful has the group been in marshaling collective action, that they have received policy makers’ recognition. Continue reading →

Where numbers matter: Better herd management for better productivity in Kenya’s pastoral communities
Animal Production / AVCD / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Value chains

Where numbers matter: Better herd management for better productivity in Kenya’s pastoral communities

Posted on by • Leave a comment

Originally posted on Livestock Systems and the Environment:
Moses Muyang’ai (centre) shows his farm records (photo credit: ILRI/James Audho). The north eastern region of Kenya is home to pastoralists whose livelihoods mostly depend on the sale and consumption of livestock and their products. But the pastoral production systems in the region are characterized by low growth rates…