Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization

SUGAR RESEARCH INSTITUTE

REPORT ON FARMERS’ TRAINING

(MIGORI, KISII AND NAROK COUNTIES)

SUGARCANE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES AND BEST

MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

KAKAMEGA MULTIPURPOSE DEVELOPMENT

TRAINING CENTRE

27TH TO 30TH JUNE 2017

Report by: Lilian Odongo

ICT -Documentation

Introduction

The Sugar Research Institute (SRI) being one of the institutes established by Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research (KALRO) Act of 2014 is mandated to undertake research and disseminate information, innovations and technologies for the production of sugarcane processing of sugar and co-products to enhance productivity and competitiveness in the sugar industry. In order to achieve its objective, SRI embraces training as a tool to build capacity of sugarcane farmers and other stakeholders on the best cane production technologies in sugarcane growing areas for enhanced productivity and sustainability. SRI through its outreach sub-centre in Opapo, south nyanza sugarcane growing zone organized for a training based on the results of training needs assessment undertaken earlier, targeting an all inclusive sugarcane farming community comprising of men, women, the youth and persons living with disability (PWDs), who had partial knowledge on sugarcane farming and had never been trained before. SRI in collaboration with the Sony sugar company, Migori County organized for a five (5) day farmers training workshop beginning 27th – 30th June 2017 at the Kakamega Multipurpose development centre in Kakamega county. The training activity was jointly funded by the European Union (EU) under the Sugar Reforms for Support Project (SRSP) component. The training sessions were graced by the following personalities:

The Director, SRI,

The Center Director, SRI-Kibos

The Head of Technology Transfer, SRI

The Head of SRSP, SRI

The Head of training department , Sony Sugar company

The Principal, Kakamega multipurpose training centre Objective The overall objective of the training was to enhance capacity of the farmers on all aspects of appropriate sugarcane production technologies. Specific Objectives The specific training objective included to:-

1. Educate farmers on Best Agricultural Practices on Sugarcane production with a view to Increase sugarcane yields through dissemination and adoption of appropriate sugarcane production technologies and innovation

2. Increase sugarcane yields through adoption of appropriate sugarcane production technologies

3. Educate farmers on technologies that have been generated by SRI and their application in sugarcane Production.

4. Educate farmers on their roles and that of other players in the Sugarcane production value chain

5. Educate farmers on challenges in sugarcane farming as a business 6. Enhance diffusion and adoption of Improved Sugarcane varieties 7. Educate farmers on enterprise diversification programmes with a view to Improve

food security and general livelihood

8. Sensitize farmers on cross cutting issues and their relevance to Sugarcane production (Gender, Disability, HIV/AID and, ADA issues).

9. Strengthening the capacity of small scale farmers in order to achieve sustainable agriculture and improved food security.

10. Educate farmers on soil & water conservation and environmental management for sustainable productivity.

Farmers’ Expectation on Training Before commencement of the training, farmers’ expectation regarding the training was sought. The following were their expectation:-

1. To gain knowledge and skills on sugarcane production technologies 2. To use knowledge acquired to empower other farmers 3. To learn changes in the Sugar Industry 4. To learn changes in farming technologies 5. To be educated on new sugarcane varieties 6. To put into practices technologies learnt during the session 7. To learn about Sugarcane pest & diseases 8. To learn about enterprise diversification 9. To be issued with participation certificates 10. To get empowerment in monetary value

Facilitation Mode The facilitators for the training were drawn from the institute’s pool of Research Assistants who achieved the objective through power point presentation conducted via use of the following facilitation modes:-

i. Lectures ii. Case studies iii. Plenary discussion iv. Questions and answers v. Teaching aids (photographs and video) vi. Field excursions

SRI Opapo sub-centre conducted training needs assessment within the sugarcane growing zones, based on the analysis SRI in collaboration with Sony sugar company undertook the task to select farmers from sugarcane sectors namely; sector 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and who had never attended any training organized by SRI in the past, they were drawn from the 3 sugarcane growing counties namely Migori, Narok and Kisii. Findings The total number of sugarcane farmers trained was 44. The table below shows distribution by County and gender.

County Male Female TOTAL

Migori 28 6 34

Kisii 3 1 4

Narok 4 2 6

TOTAL 35 9 44

Distribution by County The figure below show farmers distribution by county; 77% were from Migori, 14% from Narok and 15% from Kisii

Distribution of the participants by county

Distribution by Gender The figure below shows the distribution of the participants by gender. In particular, 20% of the participants were female while 80% of the participants were male.

Distribution of the participants by gender

Migori 77%

Kisii9%

Narok14%

DISTRIBUTION BY COUNTY

Male80%

Female20%

DISTRIBUTION BY GENDER

Gender distribution by county The graph below show gender distribution by the counties

Gender distribution by county The figure below shows that 7% of the participants were persons living with disability (PWD) while normal persons were 93%. The PWD comprised of farmers who were disabled in one way Topics covered During the five day long training farmers were educated on all aspects of Sugarcane production. The topics included:-

1. Soil Sampling& Sampling techniques

2. Harvesting and Transport 3. Ratoon Management 4. Role of out growers Institution 5. Variety Identification

6. Seed cane Selection 7. Fertilizer application, rate, type and methods

8. Common Sugarcane weeds and their management 9. Seed cane Multiplication 10. Sugarcane Pest and its control 11. Sugarcane diseases and its control 12. Soil and its Management

13. Variety recommendation by zones 14. Soil and water Conservation 15. Environment Conservation 16. Enterprise diversification

17. Group dynamic 18. E-service in KALRO/SRI 19. Information access and management 20. Land Preparation

21. Cane establishment 22. Role of Farmer Research Groups

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Migori Kisii Narok

Distribution by gender per county

Male Female

23. Irrigation Methods

24. Drainage 25. Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) in sugarcane production 26. Keeping Farm Records

Issues raised by the farmers during the training

During the training the farmers raised issues that affect Sugarcane production within the Counties. They noted that some services and operations offered by the milling companies were far below the expected standards, that they were being educated on. Some of the matters raised included:- 1. Delayed payment of sugarcane harvested and supplied to the miller. 2. Non supply of inputs (Fertilizer) by the miller 3. High cost of inputs 4. Poor services by cane cutters contractors 5. Poor seed cane supply

Suggestions During the training the farmers noted that there was need for SRI to undertake the following:- 1. Follow up and evaluation of the trained farmers in order to assess the impact of such

trainings 2. SRI to form more Farmer Research Groups in sugarcane growing zones, especially the

trained farmers 3. SRI to advice millers on appropriate Sugarcane Best Management Standards

Conclusion

The Institute achieved its objective by training 44 participants from the zones; at end of training all the farmers trained were awarded certificates of participation and packaged information on sugarcane production technologies and best management practices. Farmer were urged to practice lessons learnt from the workshop so as to improve on sugarcane farming for increased production and sustainable yields. This was an excellent approach and therefore the institute should organize for more training to other areas so as to increase adoption of technologies and improve on management of cane. Report by: Lillian Odongo ICT - Documentation

PICTORIALS

Officer in charge, SRI Opapo, giving introductory

remarks

The principal, Kakamega Multipurpose giving his

welcoming remarks

The Head of Technology Transfer SRI, addressing

farmers

The institute director SRI, officially opening the

training session

Research Asst teaching farmers on the need for soil

sampling and testing j

Sugarcane varieties and identification

Seedcane selection and multiplication

Land preparation and cane establishment

Fertilizer types, application rates and methods

Sugarcane diseases, pests and their control

Recommended zones for varieties, soil and water

conservation

Irrigation and drainage aspects in sugarcane

growing zones

A section of the participants

Award of certificate of participation

Award of certificate of participation

The training Officer Sony sugar company giving his

remarks

Head of Crop Development (HCD), European Union

rep. giving his remarks

The Centre Director SRI, officially closing the

training session