Many people might not be conversant with
the word diversification. Well diversification in agriculture did not started with jubilee government, it started long time ago.
In the second term of president Mwai Kibaki Kenyans had an opportunity to grow French beans and transport it overseas.
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Diversification in many ways is the alternative source of getting money apart from the usual large scale farming. For example a large scale maize farmer can decide to do other short season farming. This usually helps farmers to make quick money in the short run while awaits the long seasoned crops to mature.
In a region largely known for growing maize, North Rift is now turning from maize farming to other types of farming. For example in Trans-Nzoia Mzee Hezron Lagat a renown maize farmer introduced hey farming in 2015. He says maize farming had some issues particularly flactuating prices.
Hezron says that it is only diversification that could have saved him from the stressful maize business. He recalls having bought fake seedlings and and later fake fertilizer on that year.
“I remember talking to my daughter who is in the USA about the hard times farmers were going through in this country. And my daughter asked me to start something different that could bring me money.” said Hezron
He started with 10 acres peace of land, this was enough for Hezron to use domestically for his dairy animals. He started getting demands for hey since many people had seen him into the hey farming.
After seeing an opportunity in hey business Hezron decided to increase production of hey and from 10 acres to 30. This has helped him to swiftly compliment the untold suffering in maize industry.
Hezron says that in a very good year like last year 30 acres this gave him 60, 000 bails of hey, one bail goes at around Ksh. 150 this gave him Ksh. 8Million. This is far much better than maize considering the situation in maize.
He says hey has little or less management requirements in terms of labor than maize a factor than really encouraged him.
Hezron has a number of dairy cattle that also brings him some good cash at the end of the month. With this kind of diversification you will never find Hezron complaining of unpaid dues from NCPB.
Kenyans should take chance of diversification campaign intergovernmental ties especially China that we recently had an agreement to export Avocado and other agricultural products.
