Dialogue with Kenyan agrochemical company: East Africa facing worst drought in modern history, crops suffering serious damage caused by insects

Since late 2020, there has been a severe drought in East Africa. In large areas of Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, there have been four consecutively seasons with insufficient rainfall, resulting in the worst drought in modern history. The meteorological drought has led to the loss of soil moisture, the drying up of waterways and the deaths of millions of livestock. Currently, the drought is still continuing while forecast suggests that the dry weather is unlikely to improve in the short-term. Moreover, parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda may face six consecutive low-rainfall rainy seasons, while nearly 23 million people in the Horn of Africa currently face unstable food supplies.

2023 rainy season could witness failed rains

The Horn of Africa has two annual rainy seasons. Rainfall periods in each region varies but is roughly the same, i.e., from March to May (″long raining″) and from September to December. In March 2022, the average rainfall was 69 millimeters (mm), in April 2022 it was 141 mm, in May 2022 it was 130 mm, and in June 2022 it decreased to 79 mm. There is, therefore, less and less rainfall.

From March to May 2023, rainfall came late and stopped suddenly, especially in the equatorial region where ″long raining″ accounts for 70% of the year’s total. According to forecast, the September to December rainy season may also fail.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by drought poses serious challenges to the food and water supply in the regions of the Horn of Africa. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that global warming will shorten crop growing seasons and increase water stress, which will have an impact on the region’s food system.

According to the Kenya’s National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), the country’s maize production will fall by 50%, which will seriously affect people in 23 counties in northern, northeastern and coastal Kenya, potentially placing 2.1 million at risk of hunger who will be ″in desperate need″ of food aid in the coming six months.

Insect attack occurs frequently in Kenya, farmers scaling down use of agricultural inputs

AgroPages had the opportunity to speak about the drought situation with Amiran Kenya Ltd., a local agricultural inputs supplier in Kenya. Amiran is one of Kenya’s leading suppliers of agricultural inputs and deals with agrotechnology, seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, drip irrigation, greenhouse planting and agricultural services. Timothy Munywoki (Senior Agronomist at Amiran) explained the current agricultural development status in Kenya.

Agriculture accounts for 24% of Kenya’s GDP while 75% of the population are engaged in direct and indirect farming activities. Kenya’s population is growing, food demand is increasing and food production expansion is required urgently. Maize is the most widely planted crop in Kenya, with its planting area accounting for 62% of the arable land. In recent years, the planting of avocado, known as the ″green gold″ and in high demand in the European and Middle Eastern markets, has grown rapidly among Kenya’s cash crops. At present, Kenya’s avocado planting area reached 23,300 hectares, making it one of the world’s major avocado producing countries.

However, years of agricultural growth has been stifled by drought. Munywoki said that most parts of the country are currently experiencing light showers, which are far from sufficient for the entire season. The affected crops are majorly rain-fed crops, such as maize, beans, peas, fodder, wheat and barley. Perennial crops, such as avocados, mangoes and citrus, have also been affected, leading to low production levels.

For irrigated crops, major ones are onions, tomatoes, rice and capsicum, watermelon and French beans. Due to water rationing and the drying of dams, most farmers have suffered losses.

In terms of crop protection, mostly due to dry weather, attacks by insects, such as Tuta absoluta, thrips, mites, caterpillars, scales and mealybugs, have become a challenge for farmers. Because farmers are unsure whether available water will be enough for irrigation, they scaled down their applications of inputs. Therefore, drought has affected the entire industry and agricultural inputs are not being purchased, which has had a negative impact on the business performance of agrochemical companies.

As a pioneer of drip irrigation in Kenya, Amiran has long encouraged farmers to avoid traditional methods of irrigation, such as flooding. Instead, the drip system can help farmers grow more crops with less water. Farmers must construct simple dams and have the surface fitted with a damliner, enabling them to collect enough water for use for farming. Through drip irrigation, farmers can grow food during the dry season.

Munywoki believes that the use of short-term and drought resilient seeds should be encouraged in local regions, and with the increasing frequency of extreme weather, Kenya is also utilizing biotechnology to develop new crop varieties to better adapt to the environmental change, while government research institutions, such as KALRO, and universities are developing smart climate tools, which will help farmers cope with extreme weather.