Farming

Worms are good for the garden soil for many reasons. Unparalleled as soil excavators, earthworms spend their lives ingesting, grinding, digesting and excreting soil–as much as 15 tons per acre goes through earthworms bodies in a year. These “worm castings” are richer in nutrients and bacteria than the surrounding soil. Their underground burrows also create channels in the soils, which makes the soil more porous, allowing water to move to greater depths in the soil column. Worm burrows also allows for drainage after heavy rains reducing erosion. Join Philip Keitany and Peter Kanyagia to understand more about Vermiculture.

Food safety in the food market is one of the key areas of focus in public health, because it affects people of every age, race, gender, and income levels around the world. The local and international food marketing continues to have significant impacts on food safety and health of the public. Food supply chains now cross multiple national borders which increase the internationalization of health risks. Here is a discussion between Phillip Keitany and Prof. Peter Gathura, a Senior Lecturer at the department of Health Science at the University of Nairobi.

Dr. Alice Chesire has been producing maize seeds in her Makongi Farm in Uasin Gishu County for 38 years. Her husband, the late former Eldoret North MP, Rueben Chesire had already started producing maize seeds when she got married.

11 years ago, her husband died and Alice was left alone to manage the big farm with a number of employees.

Dr. Alice Chesire says whilst maize seed production involves a lot of labour and a high cost of production, with adequate rain, quality seeds and farm preparation, seed production can be very profitable. Here is an interview by Faith Kutere.

The cost of energy has been on the rise with those in rural areas being the most affected as the cost production as well as the cost of living being on the rise. However, if we can invest in technologies like the biogas we can bring down our energy cost to almost zero. Join Philip Keitany and Dr. Jacinta Mwirigi, a biogas expert discussing all you need to know about biogas production.

Avocado farming is a long-term project, with initial high costs at planting, followed by a 3-5 year wait for the trees to come into production. To reap healthy rewards, it is essential to do a full risk assessment before you start and maintain a healthy plantation that gives top yields for many years.

Food safety issues have been on the rise. The World Food Safety Day is celebrated the 7th day of June every year to discuss this and many other issues about food. Join Philip Keitany and Dr. Joyce Thaiya as they discuss why food safety is important

The fisheries sector plays an important role in the country's economic and social development, and includes the aquaculture and the capture fisheries. Besides generating foreign revenue, aquaculture provides a source of subsistence and livelihood to the rural poor. That’s why we are encouraging young people to take up fish farming as a business, and on this podcast we are tell you how to go about it.

For every plate of food or fruits that lands on your table is often made possible by the tireless effort of the humble bee. Bees play a critical role in the production of food in our farms as agents of pollination. That is why the United Nation has singled out the honey bee one of the most important insects on earth. Here is a conversation between Phillip Keitany and Dr. Eliud Muli, A Senior Lecturer at SEKU University, department of Life Science, School of Pure and Applied Sciences.

Parasites can pose a serious threat to your livestock business. They range from fleas to ticks, mites, worms, flukes among others. Apart from sucking blood from your animals they can also spread terrible diseases. Knowing how to control them goes a long way in safeguarding your farm from loss. Join Phillip Keitany and Dr. David Obiero from Maasai Mara University as they discuss this in depth.