Agriculture in Kenya dominates Kenya's economy. 15–17 percent of Kenya's total land area has sufficient fertility and rainfall to be farmed, and 7–8 percent can be classified as first-class land.Kenya country profile

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

Federal Research Division The Federal Research Division (FRD) is the research and analysis unit of the United States Library of Congress. The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the Unit ...

(June 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

.''Mwanda, C.O. Engineering Division, Ministry of Agriculture. (2000). A note on weed control in Machakos District, Kenya. Retrieved 5 May 2008, from http://atnesa.org. In 2006, almost 75 percent of working Kenyans made their living by farming, compared with 80 percent in 1980. About one-half of Kenya's total agricultural output is non-marketed subsistence production. Agriculture is also the largest contributor to Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP). In 2005, agriculture, including

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and fishing, accounted for about 24 percent of the GDP, as well as 18 percent of wage employment and 50 percent of revenue from exports. Farming is the most important economic sector in Kenya, although less than 8 percent of the land is used for crop and feed production, and less than 20 percent is suitable for cultivation. Kenya is a leading producer of tea and coffee, as well as the third-leading exporter of fresh produce, such as cabbages, onions and mangoes. Small farms grow most of the corn and also produce potatoes,

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", disting ...

s, beans, peas and chillies.

History

Production

Kenya produced in 2018: * Sugarcane in Migori

5.2 million tons of

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

; * 4 million tons of

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...

; * 1.8 million tons of

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

; * 1.4 million tons of

; * 946 thousand tons of

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

; * 871 thousand tons of

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato ('' Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young ...

; * 775 thousand tons of

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

(including

mangosteen Mangosteen (''Garcinia mangostana''), also known as the purple mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree with edible fruit native to tropical lands surrounding the Indian Ocean. Its origin is uncertain due to widespread prehistoric cultivation. ...

and

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, t ...

); * 765 thousand tons of

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

s; * 599 thousand tons of

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

; * 674 thousand tons of

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&n ...

; * 492 thousand tons of tea (3rd largest producer in the world, losing only to China and India); * 349 thousand tons of

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

; * 336 thousand tons of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

; * 239 thousand tons of

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', na ...

; * 233 thousand tons of

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

; * 206 thousand tons of

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many other ...

; * 188 thousand tons of

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...

; * 179 thousand tons of

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, ...

; * 169 thousand tons of

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

;

In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products, like

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

(131 thousand tons),

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

(92 thousand tons) and

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

(41 thousand tons).

Agricultural products

Sugarcane

Sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

production suffers from stem borers here. ''

Chilo partellus ''Chilo partellus'', the spotted stalk borer or spotted stem borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Charles Swinhoe in 1885. It is found in India, Pakistan, Iran, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Sudan, ...

'' is an invasive stem borer originally from Pakistan which has displaced the native stem borer pest, '' C. orichalcociliellus'' in some parts of the country but not entirely. Ofomata ''et al.'', 2000 find ''C. orichalcociliellus'' is able to go through all

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

stages on two native grasses here which do not host ''C. partellus'', which may be one reason for the native insect's persistence. ''

Cotesia ''Cotesia'' is a genus of braconid wasps first described by Peter Cameron in 1891. Some species parasitize caterpillars of species considered pests, and are used as biocontrol agents. ''Cotesia congregata'' parasitizes the tomato and the toba ...

flavipes'' is a

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

also from ''C. partellus''s native home of Pakistan which has been released here by Overholt ''et al.'' to serve as a

biocontrol Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also in ...

. In the season after release, Overholt ''et al.'', 1994 found only one parasitized stem borer despite much surveying. The 1995 and 1996 surveys found only a few more successes. Suddenly Overholt ''et al.'', 1997 found dramatically increased parasitism and Zhou ''et al.'', 2001 found continued increase through 1999. '' Sesamia calamistis'' is another stem borer of sugarcane here. '' Cotesia sesamiae'' is present in the country. It is a parasitoid of ''S. calamistis'' of

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

Sweet potato

The most common varieties that Kenyan

farmers grow are white, red and purple. The yellow-fleshed sweet potato's popularity has increased, due to nutritionists promoting it as a source of

vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for humans. It is a group of organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal (also known as retinaldehyde), retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids (most notably ...

, which is lacking in the Kenyan diet.Nel, Michelle. GM Potatoes Rejected in Year of Potato. Retrieved 1 May 2008, from http://www.biosafetyafrica.net. The Case of Transgenic Sweet Potato in Kenya. Retrieved 4 May 2008, from http://www.ielrc.org. The

vitamin A deficiency Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) or hypovitaminosis A is a lack of vitamin A in blood and tissues. It is common in poorer countries, especially among children and women of reproductive age, but is rarely seen in more developed countries. Nyctalopia (ni ...

is not fatal, but it leaves the immune system depleted and susceptible to

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

and

diarrhoea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin w ...

. The deficiency also may cause blindness. Despite efforts to develop completely resistant plants, little has been achieved so far. Therefore, attention is turning to pseudo-resistance, which includes mitigating weevil damage through deeper storage roots formation and short-season varieties, which are exposed to weevil infestation for less time. Where farmers piecemeal their sweet potato harvest, there can be up to a 10 percent crop loss due to disease and weevils. Beetle pests can completely destroy sweet potato plantations.

Flowers

Kenya is the world's 3rd largest exporter of

cut flowers Cut flowers are flowers or flower buds (often with some stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is usually removed from the plant for decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths and garlands. Many garde ...

. "Got roses this Valentine's Day? They probably came from Kenya", CNN, March 16, 2015.
/ref> Roughly half of Kenya's 127 flower farms are concentrated around

Lake Naivasha Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, outside the town of Naivasha in Nakuru County, which lies north west of Nairobi. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name ''Nai'posha'', meaning "rough wate ...

, 90 kilometers northwest of Nairobi. To speed their export, Nairobi airport has a terminal dedicated to the transport of flowers and vegetables. The

Kenya Flower Council The Kenya Flower Council is a voluntary body of industrial association for floriculture in Kenya. Its secretariat is in Nairobi. Trade association for flower industry The Council is involved in issues of industry lobbying, worker safety, envi ...

(KFC) says that the flower industry directly employs 90,000 and a further 500,000 indirectly in auxiliary services. Kenyan flowers make up 30 to 35% of flowers auctioned in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Kenya's roses, carnations and summer flowers are also popular in Russia and the U.S.

Coffee

Small growers are able to increase crop yields significantly by following simple guidelines, such as proper pruning. Many do not at first, because the methods seems counterintuitive, but the practices spread when neighbors that follow the guidelines have better yields.

Agricultural methods

Conventional growing

Because of pests, disease and decreased

soil nutrient Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ter ...

s, farmers are rotating their sweet potato plants as much as possible, which means using a field for sweet potato plants only once every 5 years, and not having the crop in the same field for two consecutive years. "Planting rice between two sweet potato crops have long been suggested." When sweet potatoes and rice crops were planted in fields adjacent to each other, the

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

infestation level dropped. "Reduced weevil damage was observed when sweet potato was intercropped with proso millet and sesame, but sweet potato yield was also considerably reduced. The sweet potato has been found to inhibit germination of proso millet." This

crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...

and growing pattern is very common in Africa. Weed control requires many hours of manual labour. Uncontrolled weed growth reduces crop yield by as much as 60 percent. "Some farmers solve this problem by cultivating a smaller area, but this also reduces total yields.

Herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...

s are too expensive for most smallholders." When the sweet potato plant is propagated a number of consecutive times, the yield decreases and virus build-up increases. "Viruses can be removed by heat treatment.

Irrigation

Kenya’s

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

sector is categorized into three organizational types: smallholder schemes, centrally-managed public schemes and private/commercial irrigation schemes. The smallholder schemes are owned, developed and managed by individuals or groups of farmers operating as water users or self-help groups. Irrigation is carried out on individual or on group farms averaging 0.1-0.4 ha. There are about 3,000 smallholder irrigation schemes covering a total area of 47,000 ha, which is equivalent to 42% of the total area under irrigation. They produce the bulk of horticultural produce consumed in urban centres in Kenya. The country has seven large, centrally managed irrigation schemes, namely Mwea, Bura,

Hola In molecular biology, the δ (delta) subunit of DNA polymerase III is encoded by the holA gene in '' E. coli'' and other bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one bio ...

, Perkera, West Kano, Bunyala and

Ahero Ahero is a town in the city of Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya. It is an agriculture town in Kenya that is part of Kisumu County. The town has a retail market serving as a main trading center for food and goods coming from Kisii, Homabay, ...

covering a total commanded area of 18,200 ha and averaging 2,600 ha per scheme. These schemes are managed by the National Irrigation Board and account for 18% of irrigated land area in Kenya. Initially, the government developed and managed national schemes with farmers participating as tenants. However, with effect from 2003, NIB handed over to stakeholders responsibility for most services, except for the development, O & M and rehabilitation of the major irrigation facilities. Large-scale private commercial farms cover 45,000 hectares accounting for 40% of irrigated land. They utilize high technology and produce high-value crops for the export market, especially flowers and vegetables. The farms employ a workforce of about 70,000 persons which is 41% of the population directly active in irrigated agriculture.

Organic growing

Sweet potato is typically grown organically in Africa. To decrease labour for weeding, farmers interviewed by Macharia (2004) expressed preference for planting on mounds after trying ridges. Farmers found mound methods yielded larger

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing s ...

, and easier to use without new fertilizers or chemicals.Macharia, Peter. Kenya National Report. (29 July 2004). Gateway to Land and Water Information. Retrieved 21 April 2008, from http://www.fao.org.

Organic farming Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

includes

, and

mulch A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil. Reasons for applying mulch include conservation of soil moisture, improving fertility and health of the soil, reducing weed growth and enhancing the visual appeal of the area. A mu ...

es to control pests and

soil fertility Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.

. According, to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

of the United Nations, Kenya had no percentage of certified organic cropland in 2003, yet farmers use organic methods.

Genetically-altered growing

Many farmers in Kenya refer to

genetically modified Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including ...

(GM) maize delivered by the US as the Trojan horse. GMs are currently illegal in Kenya, although the US continues to send modified maize to Kenya in the form of aid. Kenyans and other Africans, like Malawians and Zimbabweans, grind maize into flour before distributing it. Some activists have said that the US is purposefully sending GM food as aid to undercut the organic export market and cause Europe to start buying from the US. Other farmers may not be aware of GMs, and others are, as Hollie said, simply too poor.

Greenhouse farming

To increase production and boost profits, many small-scale farmers in Kenya are adoptin
greenhouse farming
Some of the popular products being grown in greenhouses include

s, capsicum, and tomatoes. Greenhouse farming in Kenya enables farmers to use less agricultural inputs (including labor and fertilizers) and control pests and diseases. The East African country is classified as a water-scarce country and most of the land is not optimal for agriculture. Most Kenyan greenhouses utilize

drip irrigation Drip irrigation or trickle irrigation is a type of micro-irrigation system that has the potential to save water and nutrients by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either from above the soil surface or buried below the surface. ...

to maximize the use of the available water and efficiently deliver nutrients to their crops.

Million-acre scheme

David Gordon Hines David Gordon Hines (8 February 1915 – 14 March 2000) was a chartered accountant who as a British colonial administrator developed farming co-operatives in Tanganyika and later in Uganda. This radically improved the living standards of farm ...

was seconded by the UK 1954–1962 to advise the Kenya minister of agriculture about the "Million-acre scheme" to buy expatriate farms mostly in the Kenya Highlands.

Agricultural research by government institutions

The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) is mandated with relevant research. KARI is the national institution bringing together research programmes in food crops, horticultural and industrial crops, livestock and range management, land and water management, and socio-economics. KARI promotes sound agricultural research, technology generation and dissemination to ensure food security through improved productivity and environmental conservation. KARI was established in 1979 as a semi-autonomous government institution. The new institute continued research activities from the East African Agricultural and Forestry Research Organisation (EAAFRO), East African Veterinary Research Organisation (EAAVRO) and, finally, the Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock Development. In 1986, the Kenyan government recognised the challenge to meet long-term food production constraints in the country. The Kenya Veterinary Vaccines Production Institute (KEVEVAPI) and the Kenya Tripanosomiasis Research Institute (KETRI) have been integrated into KARI more recently. This was due to the recognition of the need by the government to further strengthen its agricultural research system to create an institutional framework to effectively manage, reorganise and consolidate agricultural research within the country. By act of parliament the Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) was established in 2013. It merged with KARI, Coffee Research Foundation, Tea Research Foundation and the Kenya Sugar Research Foundation and has oversight of 18 research institutes. The new institution has an asset and equity base of and respectively, and 3,294 staff. Likewise, the government has set up some study institutions to aid in research projects in order to alleviate poverty, reduce unemployment and fight malnutrition. Such institutions are like

Egerton University Egerton University is a public university in Kenya. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Kenya. Location The main campus of the university is located in Njoro, a small community approximately , southwest of the town of Nakuru. T ...

set mainly for agricultural research purposes.