Mission to discourage use of chemicals
The Mountain Journal
Kenya is facing a food security concern following excessive use of
chemicals in the farms, thus leading to crop failure.
Agriculture experts and farmers met in Murang’a to chart the way
forward as they drummed-up support for use of organic farming as an option to
address poor soil fertility.
Led by Maina Wambugu the farmers said hundreds of Kenyans are on
the verge of starvation following poor crop husbandry caused by killing of the
friendly insects that facilitate pollination at the flowering stage.
They spoke in a forum convened by the Participatory Ecological
Land Use Management (Pelum) Kenya chapter in a Murang’a hotel where it was
observed that areas that were identified as high producing were at great risk.
The farmers said killing for the friendly insects has affected
production of the crops, at the
pollination stage.
With the decline in production of food and future threats of acute
food deficit the governments and NGOs are educating the farmers on the need to
turn to the friendly farming as a
remedy.
Wambugu, a director at New KPCU said there was a need for a
dialogue with farmers to help get urgent solutions to improve
the food security and bridge the deficit.
“Continued use of chemicals have made our people poor after tonnes
of food exported in the foreign markets is shipped back after failing in
tests,” said Wambugu.
In Murang’a, there are hundreds of farmers facing threat of their
land being invaded by velvet monkeys among other challenges calling for efforts
to improve their situation.
An agricultural expert Mr Edward Muiruri attached at Pelum said
they were working with experts from ICIPE among other organizations towards eradicate
the harmful insects as well as protecting the friendly ones.
He said the county governments should employ more agriculture
extension officers who will visit the farmers and provide them with advice on
improved farming practices.
“In Central Kenya the situation has changed for the worse after
hundreds of farmers moved to use excessive chemicals that polluted the soils
leading to poor production of food,” said Muiruri.
Small scale farmers representative Lucy Muigai from Kangari
village in Kigumo said 15 years ago she shifted to organic farming after she
was advised the cause of illness in her.
“Since then my family has improved health wise and am crusader of
organic farming and many people visit my farm for learning,” she said.
Other causes of low
food production in the Central region, he explained, followed construction of
roads and buildings in areas that had been reserved for farming.
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