Mkulima today we have come to learn that large scale maize farming is the best way to go. Today we are going to over why farming in less than 20 acres is not profitable and what you can do.

With this in mind, we will share the best tips from the person heading the Ministry of Agriculture in the fight against desert locust and food insecurity.

The permanent secretary in the ministry of agriculture, kilimo house says why farming in less than 20 acres is not profitable and he has his reasons. What of you do you have any?

let us get started immediately and find out his reasons for the school of thought.

What you need to know:

  • Agriculture PS Hamadi Boga observed that each part of Kenya has a crop of high value and is capable of creating wealth if supported by the national and county governments.
  •  He urged farmers to grow high-value crops that are suitable such as cassava, sorghum, millet instead of relying on maize.

Farmers with less than 20 acres of land should not grow maize for commercial purposes.

This is as a result of smaller than 20m acres will not be profitable.

Prof Boga, who said this is unprofitable also announced that the ministry is committed to ensuring farmers grow crops that are suitable to the weather and their local climatic conditions.

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This is as a result of many farmers not considering their region but relying heavily on maize farming.

“Only five percent of Kenyan soil or land is suitable for maze farming” Said Prof Boga

He also observed that each part of the country has a crop of high yield.

As a result, each region is capable of creating wealth if supported by both national and county governments.

He also added that in Kilifi there are fields of stunted maize yet a lot of effort has been made and put by farmers.

As a result, the effect is many farmers are impoverished.

Prof Boga’s statement comes at a time when Kenya Agriculture Research and Livestock Organization, KALRO has developed more than 300 maize varieties for different ecological zones in the country.

There is a need for dialogue with small hold farmers so that they can stop growing maize on five or 10 acres with the aim of commercial purposes.

This leads to them making very little money because of the low yield on their farms after the hard work.

He urged farmers to grow high-value crops that are suitable for their regions such as cassava, sorghum, millet, and stop relying on maize alone.

We need to activate our seeds system to support all these other enterprises which can still replace maize in terms of nutrients like starch.

The PS said the ministry is unable to drive its commercialization agenda when many small-hold farmers grow maize instead of other crops that could earn good returns.

Our biggest objective as a ministry is to increase the income of small-hold farmers ut we are not going to achieve that with maize.

But with other crops.

We need a radical shift to move to other crops that are equally viable and can guarantee small-hold farmers some good money. This is why farming in less than 20 acres is not profitable and you need to find other crops and options.

He said the money the county government investment based on subsides program involving seeds, fertilizers, and agrochemicals for maize production must shift to Irish potatoes, coffee, rice, and any other viable crops not only maize.

Counties should not condemn the residents to poverty by supporting the growth of maize alone.

There is no point in growing maize in counties such as Makueni or Meru when the harvests end up having aflatoxin and lead to huge losses since they are rejected by flour millers.

The PS revealed that even in areas regarded as Kenya’s maize baskets including Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Bomet among others were facing the same problem of land subdivision, degradation, and soil acidity as a result of growing maize year in year out.

The government through the ministry of agriculture has currently withdrawn subsidized fertilizers under thee current reforms by the CS Peter Munya.

Currently, the government has also stopped buying maize from farmers even as maize production in the country declined from 44 million to 33 million bags in the last year.

Story courtesy of Nation and fmureithi@ke.nationmedia.com

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