NAIROBI: Kenyan farmers were on Tuesday challenged to increase their bean production in order to tap into the growing demand. Farmers. East African Grain Council Executive Director Gerald Masila told journalists in Nairobi that despite recent improvements, yields at the farm level are still below levels achieved in the rest of the world.
“As a result, Kenya often imports beans from Tanzania and Malawi in order to meet its domestic demand,” Masila said during the a consultation on ways of increasing value addition to legume crops in Kenya. Masila said one of the ways that farmers can increase beans production is through increased adoption of modern agricultural techniques.
“Small scale farmers must move toward commercializing their operations if they are to reap from the beans,” he said, adding that the growth in Gross Domestic Product and middle class as well as changes in dietary patterns is fueling demand for the legume . Data from the government indicates that Kenya is the eighth largest producer of dry beans in the world, as the country’s production accounted for approximately 2.3 percent of global output.
The executive director noted that dry beans are the most common legumes produced in the country, and cowpea is another common variety of legume produced in Kenya. Masila said that commercial production of cowpea is becoming more prevalent, and is generally intercropped with maize, millet and sorghum.
According to Masila, meeting domestic demand for cowpea has remained a challenge despite the fact that Kenya’s average yield per farmer surpassed the world average in 2013. He said despite adoption of high yielding varieties, farmers’ yields remain below the world average.
