Horticulture

Horticulture has continued to become an increasingly important agricultural sub-sector in Kenya’s economy. It is one of the first three leading foreign exchange earners.  The sub-sector plays an important role in poverty alleviation by providing food and high incomes to small scale farmers who constitute 75% of Kenya’s farming population. However, the sub-sector faces numerous constraints and challenges some of which provide opportunities for research.

KARI Kitale horticultural research program involves vegetables, fruits, flowers and medicinal and aromatic plants. Currently, concentration is on the first two commodity areas.  The program also handles oil and biofuel crops, promotion and registration of certified seed potato production in the mandate region. Majority of farmers have increasingly diversified their farming enterprises with horticulture being one of the leading options, owing to the high product value and short cropping duration. The main goal in our research is to sustainably enhance food and incomes of the rural people through application of appropriate technologies and knowledge with the main purpose of identifying constraints, validating, disseminating, and promoting the usage of production, postharvest and value added technologies for profitable horticultural production. Horticultural research thrust areas include: variety adaptation, agronomic packages, post harvest handling and value addition, crop protection and socio-economic studies. The focus is to conduct demand driven research and technology transfer on horticultural crops for the benefit of both small and large scale farmers through adaptive research in the mandated districts of the North Rift Valley region thereby contributing to an improved quality of life.

Constraint identification (Mango weevil) Central Pokot district

Achievements

•    Adaptable banana cultivars identified and disseminated
•    Post harvest handling technology adapted  and disseminated on ripening bananas
•    Development, adaptation and dissemination of indigenous (black nightshade, amaranthus, jute mallow, Sunhemp) vegetable crops
•    Use of organic and inorganic fertilizers in vegetable production
•    Promotion of certified seed potato production and distribution (buyers linked to seed growers)
•    Fruit seedling/planting materials production and supply on selected (banana, avocado, passion fruit, white sapota) fruit crops.

Banana cultivar – Grand Naine in a farmer’s field

Amaranthus (Amarantuns hypochondriatus)

Farmers receiving miniature Tissue culture bananas during a TC banana hardening nursery training session at Big Tree, Trans Nzoia West district