It’s Not Conspiracy Against Crops

It’s all about awareness

A reader was incensed at my use of “Conspiracy on crop production” in my previous posting. Sure enough he is right; bacteria and attitude have never met to conspire against crops! A farmer’s attitude and lack of awareness may be one of the many reasons that hurt crop production.

A mango farmer in Kitui Central in Eastern Kenya invested $67 in crop protection products and reaped $934 in sales proceeds. Neighbouring farmers made an average of $ 400 from their mango sales. Those with a positive attitude approached their colleague to find out what his trick was. His story was simple; he took advantage of a “bottom billion” package tailored for small holder farmers popularly referred to as “Uwezo” (loosely translated from Kiswahili to mean “…As per your ability.”)  “Uwezo” spray regime enabled him to use crop protection products. The result was quality and clean fruit that attracted more buyers.

Who else can determine a farmer’s ability if not he/she! Thinking long term and prioritizing is part of stewardship. On the other hand if product providers fail to make them affordable and create awareness, we may all fall in the trap of blaming innocent farmers.

 

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