A section of Nakuru county has long been plagued by aphids and whiteflies. This has kept Martha Muthoni busy.
Muthoni is an agro dealer, in other words, a seller and supplier of agriculture inputs, such as seed, fertiliser, stock remedies, agrochemicals, animal feed and other services needed closer to farmers.
“Aphids and whiteflies are the most common problem here,” she says. “We sell to farmers insecticides or biotraps. I ask farmers to make sure they’ve read the instructions from the manufacturer.”
A farmer in the county, Martha Ng’endo, lives in Munanda, Subukia. She remembers how useful the tomatoes she used to grow were to her family. “I was unable to fight Tuta Absoluta,” she says. “We didn’t have a solution. I, therefore, stopped growing tomatoes.”
After she learned about the biotraps, she found them rather expensive. She couldn't afford it. In her neighbourhood, she knows at least one farmer who has hoisted the traps.
Ng’endo currently farms French beans, Hass and Fuerte avocadoes, capsicum and a mix of vegetables. She scouts her crops to keep an eye on any signs of infestation.
“If pests are spotted, I call extension service providers to explain the kind of pests I’ve seen,” she says. “They advise me on the chemical to use.”
When she goes to an agro vet to buy the pesticide, “I read the instructions to know the expiry date and how to mix the chemical.”
She used to spray herself. Not anymore. “I stopped because women are not supposed to do so,” she says. “I call a spray service provider, whom I explain to the mixing proportions, after which he sprays.”
When disposing of the pesticide containers, she neither burns nor throws away the empty bottles. “I puncture them to render them unusable. They are collected later for proper disposal.”
Another Subukia farmer is Samuel Mbugua. His farm is in Mutamaiyu. He grows mixed vegetables and pyrethrum.
“I tried growing tomatoes once,” he says. “Tuta was a problem. Since I didn’t have someone to spray for me, I couldn’t do it myself because I’m past the recommended age.”
The option for him was to abandon tomatoes. But with time, he came to appreciate biological control measures. “I use traps. I’ve bought two that are sticky. I use them against pumpkin attack.”
Mbugua, who was first informed about the traps in May 2021 during a regenerative farming forum, has noticed a remarkable change. “So far, Tuta has reduced,” he says.
He forecasts that he will reap between 90 and 100 pumpkins. He hopes to sell each pumpkin at Sh200.
Habel Wachira is in Subukia Valley. He inherited one acre from his father. He's been farming for 30 years. He grows 20 Haas and 10 Fuerte avocadoes. He's set up three traps to protect his avocadoes from infestation. The traps have trapped hundreds of the pests.
Pre-harvest interval (PHI) is the period between spraying crops and harvesting or consuming.
Muthoni explains to the farmers the mixing ratio. Another agro dealer is Michael Kahiro. “We usually advise farmers on Post Harvest Interval,” he says. “We do not want to consume crops with chemical residues likely to end up in our body system.”
Apart from traps that are sticky-surfaced, there are water-based ones.