kenthefarmer
Lister
I’m not fighting anyone, let’s be clear. In fact, I visit Tanzania a lot to check on farming progress, of course… and maybe visit my baby mama. But every time I’m there, I see something that makes me question how we are farming in Kenya.
Tanzania is feeding nations with their OPV (Open-Pollinated Variety) bulb onions. Their farmers plant, harvest, keep seeds, and replant season after season. These onions are cheaper to grow, resistant to pests, and perform well without needing expensive chemicals. When harvest time comes, buyers don’t ask which variety was planted ,they just rush there to buy in bulk. Meanwhile, here in Kenya, a farmer must convince buyers that their hybrid onions are worth buying, and even then, they’ll hesitate. Why? Because hybrid onions demand fertilizers, pesticides, and all sorts of expensive treatments, yet they are still susceptible to pests and diseases.
When I visited this farm where we had the two varieties, the highbreed variety was almost 85%finished by pests and diseases while this OPV variety was standing strong ,tall and less than 5%effected.
As a bulb onion farmer, I have planted both OPV and hybrid onions. And let me tell you something shocking ,OPV onions last longer in storage, while some hybrid varieties start rotting the same day you harvest! There’s one particular variety (let me not mention names because my 'loya' is busy drinking kali kali at Nyua Ciothe bar ever since his wife remarried Ras, the boda boda guy).
Your favorite variety in fancy packets .
It’s the same with maize. I have my OPV maize variety that has been replanted for over 20 years, and it’s still doing wonders. Thick stems, big grains, sweet flour, and resistance to diseases. Meanwhile, modern “high breed” maize comes in flashy packets with certifications, but some of them bring along pests and diseases as free extras. Then we are told they are “certified.” Certified for what exactly? 'Niurimo'! (We’ve been played!)
If we continue this way, a few years from now, we will be crying. The day we fully depend on seed companies to tell us what to plant and how to farm, we’ll have lost control over our food. We need to protect and replant our indigenous seeds before they disappear.
I stand to be corrected, but one thing is clear ,Tanzania figured something out while we were busy chasing packets.
Ni hayo tu kwa sasa ,let me join my 'loya' at nyua ciothe bar .
~village investor.
Tanzania is feeding nations with their OPV (Open-Pollinated Variety) bulb onions. Their farmers plant, harvest, keep seeds, and replant season after season. These onions are cheaper to grow, resistant to pests, and perform well without needing expensive chemicals. When harvest time comes, buyers don’t ask which variety was planted ,they just rush there to buy in bulk. Meanwhile, here in Kenya, a farmer must convince buyers that their hybrid onions are worth buying, and even then, they’ll hesitate. Why? Because hybrid onions demand fertilizers, pesticides, and all sorts of expensive treatments, yet they are still susceptible to pests and diseases.
When I visited this farm where we had the two varieties, the highbreed variety was almost 85%finished by pests and diseases while this OPV variety was standing strong ,tall and less than 5%effected.
As a bulb onion farmer, I have planted both OPV and hybrid onions. And let me tell you something shocking ,OPV onions last longer in storage, while some hybrid varieties start rotting the same day you harvest! There’s one particular variety (let me not mention names because my 'loya' is busy drinking kali kali at Nyua Ciothe bar ever since his wife remarried Ras, the boda boda guy).
Your favorite variety in fancy packets .
It’s the same with maize. I have my OPV maize variety that has been replanted for over 20 years, and it’s still doing wonders. Thick stems, big grains, sweet flour, and resistance to diseases. Meanwhile, modern “high breed” maize comes in flashy packets with certifications, but some of them bring along pests and diseases as free extras. Then we are told they are “certified.” Certified for what exactly? 'Niurimo'! (We’ve been played!)
If we continue this way, a few years from now, we will be crying. The day we fully depend on seed companies to tell us what to plant and how to farm, we’ll have lost control over our food. We need to protect and replant our indigenous seeds before they disappear.
I stand to be corrected, but one thing is clear ,Tanzania figured something out while we were busy chasing packets.
Ni hayo tu kwa sasa ,let me join my 'loya' at nyua ciothe bar .
~village investor.