KENYAN farmers have been urged to resort to conservation tillage (CT) to boost food security while conserving the environment.
The minister of agriculture and livestock development, Kipruto arap Kirwa, said the concept had been widely used in other parts of Africa and had proved pivotal in fighting land degradation.
Kirwa said ct has been populised among small-scale farmers in Kerugoya, central Kenya, where for three years they have adopted no-till practice with success.
Maize yields amongst these farmers have increased from 0.8 tonnes to a maximum of 6 tonnes per hectare.
Conservation tillage is a method of farming that emphasizes on the judicious use of agricultural herbicides to minimise unnecessary soil disturbance by ploughing and weeding.
Kirwa said: “Our country must continue to focus on appropriate agricultural technologies or inputs that increase productivity in both small and large farms while reducing costs and conserving the environment”.