Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
It is being made to be. Mkulima mdogo hata hawezi zalisha mayai - the feeds too high. Soon maize will be a venture for a few large scale farmers who can mechanize and benefit from economies of scale.
Ephraim Njenga is definitely a 'whinner'
- Thread starter Denis Young
- Start date
This is one area president Ruto should focus on asap if he wants to crate youth employment. A quick win and a low hanging fruit compared to manufacturing
Also increased theft of farm produce by unemployed youth. Where I come from people have given up on chicken farming since kijiji yote waliiba kuku wakamaliza, even avocados are no longer safe
mzeiya
Elder Lister
What's our opinion on large scale farming being done by external entities in the guise of empowering locals such as Twiga Feeds and these guys doing commercial tilapia farming at the lake?
Na wait analysis ya Njega kwa fixed price
Denis Young
Elder Lister
My fren, I have literally worked in the coffee industry for a couple years, and even today I am still being head hunted by Dormans. I am also the one who helps my father with disease detection and modern treatments in his small 4 acre coffee farm. But what do I know? I have never left Karatina and Nairobi and it shows.
Let me ask you this. What do you think is the reason unga is costing 200 bob or a bag of maize costing 6500+?
Denis Young
Elder Lister
1. Reduced supply.
2. Weakening shilling since we import a lot of maize.
3. Expensive inputs.
4. High fuel prices.
They are all answers but I needed the main reason.
Except in 2009 and 2022, I have never heard a situation where farmers have cried for fertilizer subsidies. Ama unataka kuniambia fertilizer was not costing 2500-3k last yr?
Also, unlike in 2017 when we imported from Mexico (note that we have been importing thru and thru), we are importing from neighbors. So we don't need dollars.
The main reason for high unga price is because we are importing maize. And the reason for importing maize is because we didn't produce enough locally. And the reason for low production is failed rains.
mzeiya
Elder Lister
Denis Young
Elder Lister
Denis Young
Elder Lister
Did you read that report some few years ago where it indicated that Kenya had halted the subsidy on fertilizer? I have really tried to look for it but couldn't find it.
That and several other factors led to the spike in the cost of the product.
Am I also seeing you suggest we purchase products from our neighbors using Kenya Shilling and not FX? That doesn't sound right to me.
And yes. I agree rains have affected production. Now add the cost of high inputs to that low yield and you can start seeing how Unga has hit 200 ksh so quickly.
bigDog
Elder Lister
This was inevatible. We can't continue kicking the can down the road. Subsidies should be reduced with an aim of removing them altogether. Neither KK nor Azimio can sustain these subsidies!
If you told wafuasi that the global economy ni mbaya sana saidi, walikuwa wanafoka "Fua* mecho nyanya". Now wafuasi have seen the true lie. They were sold "hope". I'm waiting to see 50 birrions being distributed to hasoras. @The.Black.Templar, mliambiwa mngonje how many weeks?
But then again, izo taxes ought to be reduced. Fuel that we dont produce locally should never be the main source of govt income, like it is now
Let us wait and see, it is only the second day and the population including yourself is expectant....keep the enthusiasm up
Mr Black
Elder Lister
Aiii banah, Njega makes very good points, fertiliser is not the magic bullet, if anything there have been reports indicating fertiliser use in the North Rift region has led to soil acidity and contributed to low yields which gives credence to his assertion that the problem is more complex and needs a more nuanced approach
smartfarmerkenya.com
Assuming providing affordable fertiliser alone leads to higher yields there needs to be a solution to post harvest losses and another one on how to maximising incomes for farmers who get ripped off by middlemen, that is if the rains don't fail which is catastrophic for maize farming or they don't come in hard during harvesting leading to rot which points to a dire need for crop insurance, another solution government needs to help mainstream.
We need multipronged solutions.
Why your yields remain poor despite fertiliser
For many years, maize yields in Kenya have continued to decline, while once fertile and healthy soils from regions with heavy-medium rainfal...
smartfarmerkenya.com
Assuming providing affordable fertiliser alone leads to higher yields there needs to be a solution to post harvest losses and another one on how to maximising incomes for farmers who get ripped off by middlemen, that is if the rains don't fail which is catastrophic for maize farming or they don't come in hard during harvesting leading to rot which points to a dire need for crop insurance, another solution government needs to help mainstream.
We need multipronged solutions.
Montecarlo
Elder Lister
Never get angry at policy developers...that is how they are...kuandika copius documents is not difficult since it's all theoretical...get angry at the implementer because they are the ones who are supposed to contextualize a solution based on the environment they find themselves in and political offices are not the easiest in any country.
Wacha wamashamba amalize 6 months tuone kama anajua what he is doing ama he is just monkeying around
Montecarlo
Elder Lister
Then who was supposed to take over and what was supposed to be their plan? On this Ephraim ameandika a stupid article.
I don't recall wamashamba saying they'll turn around things within a week.....ama fuel subsidy inauma fake middle class? Mtu akatekate guzzler yake kama ku fuel ni shida....petty bourgeoisie