Simlaw Seed Company is in the midst of purchasing 4.5 tonnes of green grams seed at a cost of Sh80 per kilo from Hola Irrigation Scheme.
Speaking to the press yesterday at the Hola Irrigation Scheme headquarters, Scheme Agronomist Johnson Mkho stated that the seed company involved Hola Irrigation Scheme farmers in December 2021 to cultivate green grams for seed generation, planting 50 acres of land with the green grams.
Mr Mkho stated that it was anticipated that four bags of green grams would be produced per acre of land, implying that approximately 200 bags of green grams would be produced from the 50 acres of land, adding that the seed company was initially set to procure green grams at a price of Sh120 per kilogram.
He added, however, that when farmers sowed green grams for seeds, the maturing crop was hit by heavy rains in December 2021, resulting in a low-quality final crop that was black rather than green.
The agronomist stated that the seed company representatives visited farmers in early February 2022 and discovered that the green grams produced were not pure green. As a result, they sorted the green grams and settled on 90 bags of green grams for seed, which they suggested to purchase it at Sh80 per kg rather than Sh120 per kg due to their poor quality.
Mr. Mkho blamed the rainfalls for sabotaging the efforts of Hola Irrigation Scheme green grams growers, but he urged farmers not to despair, stating that nature does not always heed the farmer’s will.
He also urged Hola Irrigation farmers to turn out in big numbers and engage in rice growing, which is doing better than maize farming at the Hola Irrigation scheme, noting that the scheme has already allocated 1000 acres of land for rice farming.
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