Residents of Vihiga County have been urged to make good use of their farms by embracing smart agricultural practices to improve production.
Vihiga County Director of Agriculture Reuben Chumba asked residents to fully exploit the potentials of their farms by practising sound agricultural techniques to realise higher yields.
Chumba said even though most farms in Vihiga County were small in size, they could get good yields from them if they were taken good care of.
He urged them to take advantage of the ongoing rains in this second planting season, prepare their farms on time, plant certified seeds and use both organic and inorganic fertilisers to boost their yields.
He urged them to intercrop maize with beans, as beans would help in nitrogen fixation, and practise crop rotation so that this would help reduce or eradicate some weeds and parasites that may be found in the farms because of planting the same type of crop every year.
He urged them to take their soils for testing so that they could know the pH level of their soils and the right fertilisers to apply on the farms.
“Most of you have never taken your soil for testing; you just use fertiliser without taking into account the deficiency your soil lacks so that you seek advice on the right fertiliser to use,” said Chumba.
He added that there is a need for farmers to embrace traditional crops like sweet potatoes, cassava, finger millet and sorghum, among others which will help in realising food security.
He urged them to also plant indigenous vegetables where they could register cooperative societies, which would enable them to sell their crops in big towns like Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret; hence, they would be empowered economically.
By Maureen Imbayi
