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Monday 30 March 2015

The need for drought resistance crops in Laikipia

By Moses Ndung’u
Due to the erratic weather patterns and the unpredictable climatic extensions, many farmers have fallen prey to the faith of coming rain that is really unyielding, characterized by faint drizzles that border flora supportive rainfall, long spells of sunshine and the subsequent global warming effects.
The staple food of many Kenyans being maize products, that is, the cereals, many Kenyans have undertaken virtual mono-cropping, that is, maize and beans. These plants do very well in semi-arid area hence their popularity. Unfortunately for their climatic warm and cold adaptations, the situations is now soaring towards hot and dry, an adverse climatic order for the plants success.
Presently, due to the latter weather condition, many dams have dried and the few with a little hope are on the trend of drying. This is caused by several factors that obliviously couple to annihilate any source of water.
Cassava on display
These factors are the hot weather and the irrigation practiced by those near the water sources. Now what is the survival exit? With the pressing need for human basic needs, the tight ecological balance has been upset. The animals as well as the plants are affected. And this draws a huge circle of drag-ins.
To avert what is now a huge and yawning expectation of doom, it would be good if farmers considered other kind of farming to make the ends meet. This is provided for if drought resistant crops are put into consideration and the mono-cropping done away with or practiced on subsistence agenda.
These drought resistant crops include hay, millet, cassava, sweet potatoes and sorghum. Hay has good annual returns than maize and could compensate on food on financial grounds. Also, hay requires little workload and labour hence its eligibility for the drought fighting arena.
Millet is a crop that has rich nutritional value and does well in very dark times, it serves starch as well as maize does with an ounce better, it is cheap to undertake and highly marketable.

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