Farmers have been urged to practice crop rotation and better farming methods to eliminate a new type of maize disease that has spread within the country.
Speaking to westfm.co.ke at the Kenya seed office, the new Managing Director Mr. Hasaria Soy appealed to farmers to practice better farming methods in order to eradicate the Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease that has been witnessed and affected several maize crops in South Rift, Central Rift and partly in the North Rift.
Mr. Hasaria Soy advised farmers to uproot affected crops, burry the plant and avoid feeding it to animals as they will spread the disease through their dung which shall be spread in the field.
He also advised farmers to practice crop rotation as a way of trying to eliminate the disease as this will break the cycle of spreading the disease.
He appealed to farmers to help the Agricultural officers in eliminating any diseases they might come across by furnishing them with relevant information that can help them eliminate the disease once and for all.
He however denied any claims that the country has been affected by the head smut and common smut diseases and opposed claims that the current crop variety is poor because the seeds sold to farmers from the seed company were fake.
He warned those businessmen involved in selling counterfeit seeds to unsuspecting farmers of dire consequences should they be found involved in the vice.
The Kenya Seed Company MD said the company is in the process of providing quality seeds to farmers that will give them better returns saying they are in the process of reviving the company to provide high quality services to farmers.
He however disclosed that the country might experience low yields in terms of harvests due to poor climatic conditions witnessed in the country appealing to farmers to practice rotational cropping in order to eradicate the diseases in their farms.
He appealed to farmers to purchase certified seeds from the seed company in order to realize best results and avoid buying seeds from the brokers who have been selling them fake seeds.