The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation has opened a one-stop shop for farm inputs in Matuga, Kwale county.
The Mkulima Shop will provide farmers with certified seeds and agricultural advice to improve food production and earnings.
Kalro deputy director general crops Felister Makini said the centre will be providing farmers with suitable seeds that match the area's agronomics.
She said many farmers have been buying and using wrong seeds resulting in losses, crop failure and low food production.
"Our farmers have been going for substandard seeds that don’t meet the requirement of this area's climatic condition," Makini said.
She said sometimes farmers use traditional seeds that are unproductive and are prone to diseases.
She said the shortage of certified seeds has contributed to poor harvesting seasons.
Makini said 15 other Mkulima Shops will be opened across the country for farmers to access quality certified seeds.
She said the seeds will be sold at a lower price at the shop.
The seeds include maize, citrus fruits, coconuts, cashew nuts, mango, cow peas and green grams.
Makini said Matuga Kalro research centre is the only place in Kenya where the grafting of citrus fruits is done because the area is free from a crop disease known as greening disease.
She said the centre will also serve farmers from other coastal counties.
Kalro in partnership with the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service is committed to conducting more research and coming up with better seeds and pesticides to fight diseases and improve food production across the country, Makini said.
"We are working day and night to ensure farmers have suitable seeds and study diseases for better solutions," she said.
The deputy director urged farmers to take advantage of the Mkulima Shop to improve their farming.
She said farmers should adopt better farming methods and seek scientific agricultural advice to avoid losses and attain food security.
Farmer Ali Musa said farmers now have a great opportunity to move from subsistence to commercial farming since certified seeds are readily available at affordable prices.
Musa said they previously had to travel all the way to Mombasa county to buy the seeds.
Nyazua Karuku said the locally purchased seeds were unproductive and most of the time farmers faced huge losses.
"Sometimes the substandard seeds fail to germinate and rot in the soil and if they grow, not all crops mature," she said.
Karuku said they have been planting and not expecting much yield due to poor quality seeds.
Kombo Mwanyanje said food production is at the moment guaranteed as farmers have access to harsh climatic and disease-tolerant seeds.
