Increasing Resilience and Profitability
Farmers face a number of environmental challenges, like erratic rainfall, pest invasions, input price increases, and soil degradation. But for Kenya’s smallholder maize farmers who don’t have the resources to adapt, these challenges can quickly impact their yields and their profitability. This can be devastating as the majority of Kenyans rely on maize for their nutrition and their income. To help these farmers, UPL developed its ProNutiva Maize Program.
Our ProNutiva Maize Program helps Kenya’s maize farmers become more resilient now and for generations to come by combining traditional crop protection products and innovative biosolutions. Smallholder farmers can effectively combat pest and weed challenges, while also reducing residues and promoting healthy soils. The result becomes an economic and environmental win for farmers, helping increase yields, improve their land, and increase their income potential.
To demonstrate the benefits of the ProNutiva Maize Program to these smallholder farmers and encourage adoption of the innovative technology, we started with a series of trials in Kitale and Eldoret. We engaged with more than 1,100 farmers to ensure they had efficacious solutions that worked for their particular situation. We also conducted a number of meetings, pre- and post-harvest training sessions, demonstrations, and field days to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to use them.
The results showed the majority of the farmers who used the ProNutiva Maize Program harvested 810 kg more per acre than those who didn’t – a yield increase of around 30%. These farmers also increased their revenue by an average of Ksh. 38,100 (US $310) per acre.
With UPL’s innovation and collaborative approach, Kenya’s smallholder maize farmers have the tools they need to handle challenges in the field, helping them achieve a higher yield for their crops, increased income, and a brighter outlook for generations to come.
“This maize ProNutiva program helped me. I mixed my fertilizer with Reon and Panoramix, I later used Sigma Combi for the weeds and the farm was clean. When the sun was hot, my crop did not wither. Normally I harvest 20 bags per acre, but this time I got 33 bags per acre. So in total for 3 acres, I got 99bags.”
Nobert Kimeli, Kenyan farmer