Elgeyo Marakwet farmers have benefitted from free soil testing and analysis to contribute to increase yields.
This courtesy of a partnership between the County Government and OCP Africa.
A total of 1,500 farms in all the 20 Wards in Elgeyo Marakwet County were sampled, tested and release of the results began Tuesday.
Karen Ayabei, an Agronomist with OCP Africa, said the findings revealed that most of the soil in Elgeyo Marakwet were largely acidic, low in organic carbon and phosphorus, while in the highlands, most soil recorded low Ph.
She spoke during the first sensitization forum at Bugar Centre in Kapchemutwa on Tuesday attended by hundreds of farmers.
OCP is a Moroccan based Fertiliser Company with a recent footprint in Kenya offering soil specific fertilisers aimed at correcting soil imbalance.
In mitigation, farmers were advised to follow agronomic advice released in detailed reports to the 1,500 representative farmers.
The advisory included usage of correct quantity of fertilizer and also utilisation of compost and organic manure to recover soil fertility.
Mr Edwin Seroney, CEC Agriculture, who graced the occasion said the release of the findings for the remaining 19 Wards would continue for the next one month.
The CEC said the partnership between the County and OCP Africa saved farmers close to sh 4.5 million they would have incurred to undertake the soil test individually.
Ordinarily, a soil test is levied at between Sh.1,500 to 3,000 per test, as per prevailing market rates.
According to the CEC, any farmer who participated in the soil test should use the results alongside their neighbors to enable all farmers in the County take mitigation measures.
“As we embrace our Governor, Wisely Rotich’s rallying call to create wealth through agriculture, we must ensure our soils are healthy to support the growth of cash crops,” he said.
The CEC also challenged famers to embrace technology in marketing their farm produce as well also managing their farming.
The farmers appreciated the exercise noting that it had explained the cause of declining yields in their farms in recent years.
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