Muchui Women have crop failure

Angus, Susan and I surveyed seven of the 63 original members of the Muchui Womens Group today. These visits confirmed what we have been observing in the community since we arrived two weeks ago.
All seven of the women planted hybrid varieties of maize and all seven had either partial or total crop failure . This is because of the drought. The maize started growing well but before it elongated, it dried up. This is in spite of the fact that they had the ground worked ahead, planted the right varieties, used fertilizer and compost, and spaced the plants the right distance apart.
They also planted wheat and will get very little yield from it. We saw them harvesting the crop by hand or allowing their cows, goats and sheep into the fields to harvest the little that is left.
Their kitchen gardens are producing little or nothing. They are using their drip irrigation but the onions and the kales they have planted are totally dried up. We think that they do not have enough money to pay for piped water.
When plants in the kitchen garden do come through the ground, the birds swoop down and eat the seedlings. They don’t eat an entire tomato- they just take a bite of one and then take a bite out of the next one.
We are exploring the purchase of bird netting from a greenhouse supplier company- particularly for the vegetable gardens at schools. However it is expensive.......

Teresa Mellish
Feb 7, 2011