KALRO | Food Safety Africa Magazine

Kenya launches ambitious agricultural project to bolster food security

Sep 15, 2023Sep 15, 2023

KENYA – In a concerted effort to enhance food security and transform the agricultural sector, the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) has unveiled the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCPD). This five-year initiative, backed by funding from KALRO, the World Bank, and other partners, represents a significant investment of Sh.3.5 billion (U.S$ 24,018,564) by KALRO and an…

KALRO develops new high-yielding, disease-resistant chicken breed

Mar 31, 2023Mar 31, 2023

KENYA – The Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) has created a new breed of chicken known as the KC3 that is disease-resistant consumes less feed, matures more quickly, and produces more eggs annually. KC3, which is brown in colour, follows the release of KC1, a spotted variety, and KC2, a black variant, in 2019, both of which were…

New probiotic invention reduces over-dependence on antibiotics in cattle

Jan 20, 2023Jan 20, 2023

KENYA – The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), has created an enhanced probiotic which boosts livestock production by up to 30%, improves animal health, decreases reliance on antibiotics, and reduces methane gas emission in dairy cattle. According to Willis Adero, the project’s principal investigator preliminary KALRO trials in Naivasha revealed a 20-33 percent milk increase in cattle where…

KALRO to distribute GM maize seeds to farmers in 2023

Oct 26, 2022Oct 26, 2022

KENYA – The Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) is set to avail 11 metric tons (MT) of genetically modified (GM) Bt maize for planting on 500,000 acres in 2023. With the help of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation, the seeds will be distributed to farmers for free to plant in mid-altitude agroecological zones, such as areas of Western…

Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International identifies pests that threaten Kenya’s agriculture

Jun 19, 2022Jun 19, 2022

KENYA – The Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) has led a research which prioritizes 120 potential Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that could pose a threat to agriculture and biodiversity in Kenya. From the initial assessment, the study, published in the journal Biological Invasions, drew up a list of 21 arthropods, 9 nematodes and 20 pathogenic species which the…

Kenya turns to biological control of papaya mealybug

Mar 22, 2022Mar 22, 2022

KENYA – Kenyan scientists have stepped up the use of the encyrtid wasp to manage the papaya mealybug, which is ranked among top pests affecting papaya and other horticultural crops. The mealybug is also a serious threat to greenhouse farms and can distress whole crops if left unmanaged. Scientists from the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (Cabi), the Kenya…

Kenya’s government launches US$ 260 thousand to enable access to certified potato seeds

Mar 11, 2022Mar 13, 2022

KENYA – The government of Kenya has launched a ksh30 million ( around US$ 260 thousand) project in Nakuru that will enable more farmers to access certified potato seeds to fight poverty and hunger via increased food production. The project which is financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries under the National Agricultural Rural Inclusive and Growth Project…

KALRO implores farmers to adopt Good Agricultural Practices to ensure produce safety

Mar 11, 2022Mar 11, 2022

KENYA – Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) has implored farmers to adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for tomato production in order to ensure quality and safe produce for the consumers and also safeguard the environment. This was during a farmers’ field day at Rombo in Kajiado County under the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) programme, which is the…

KALRO follows up on improved chicken project in Kenya’s Migori County

Oct 25, 2021Oct 25, 2021

KENYA – Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) officials have visited Migori farmers in Nyatike Sub County to evaluate how the upscaling KALRO improved indigenous chicken project is being implemented. In May 2020, KALRO with the support of the Kenyan Government and European Union, sponsored Blue Cross Nyakite, a non-governmental organization, with Ksh6.8m (US$ 61151) to upscale KALRO improved…

Kenya acclaims cultivation of genetically modified cassava following NBA safety assessment

Jun 24, 2021Jun 24, 2021

KENYA – Kenya has become the first country globally to give a green light to the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) cassava, capable of resisting the destructive cassava brown streak disease (CBSD). CBSD is a viral disease spread by whiteflies and infected cuttings, which leads to devastating losses of up to 98 percent for cassava farmers in Kenya. Cassava is…