The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has raised concerns about the health of soil in areas of Kakamega County, most of which are known to be the country’s grain basket, especially Lugari and Likuyani sub-counties.
Data from the organization indicates that farmers in the mentioned areas no longer get more than 15 bags of produce from an acre of their farms due to the high content of acids in their soils.
The USAID has now launched a soil health campaign and training to create awareness among farmers on the need to redress the acidity of soils (pH) and enhance production.
The initiative also aims to mitigate the rise in fertilizer prices as a result of the Ukraine-Russia war, as USAID hopes to reach over 300,000 farmers in 13 counties before the program ends.
The People Daily reports that at least 100,000 farmers are targeted in the three-month soil awareness campaign that involves Morocco-based fertilizer producer OCP and West Pokot-based granulated lime producer Fanisi.
“A sample of 1,000 soil samples from 5,000 farmers gave a finding of a soil pH value range of between 4.3 and 5.8, which is generally acidic and may result in stunted crops or crop failure,” said Director of Tumaini Veterinary Services, a USAID, KCDMS implementing, and local partner of the soil health hygiene program in Kakakamega, Mr. Winston Wanjala, who added that preliminary findings indicate that soils in Kakamega County are acidic.
Kakamega County, which boasts a poverty index of 31 percent but is food poor and relies on food imports from neighboring counties, has a farm input subsidy program to raise production per acreage and improve household nutrition.
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