FARM NEWS
New CLAAS combine harvesters
Two new combine harvesters arrived at Kisima in August. This will enable us to collect yield data for our records allowing us to create variable rate maps to reduce inputs further.
Forestry updates
The Kisima Forestry department has had a busy first half of the year. The nursery has ramped up its production in preparation for planting, with seed propagation from seed trees providing new seedlings for Cypress and Radiata pine. A Eucalyptus trial will be implemented, and seedlings have been bought from the Tree Biotechnology in Karura, including hybrids and clonal varieties.
The rains have allowed some areas of planting to be carried out and augurs have been bought to speed up the process as well as improve the planting regimes. Emphasis has been placed on ensuring best practice in all areas of the forestry department and aligning and staking of planting areas has been carried out to confirm that the planting is uniform.
Flora Diversity Register
A biodiversity register on the farm is currently underway and Kisima Forestry has completed the plant survey phase documenting the plant species on the farm.
Over 67 plant families were recorded indicating a high plant diversity in the surveyed areas. Some of the plant species recorded could find use in their medicinal and aesthetic values and some of the species noted during the survey were invasive. Charcoal burning for species like Acacia Mearnsii and Acacia Melanoxylon is being carried out to eradicate them. This survey will go a long way in our efforts towards propagating a wide range of species and improving our tree nursery on a commercial basis.
Please see a link to the full report here.
GECA carbon footprint assesment
Kisima recently underwent a carbon footprint assessment by Green Earth Climate Action (GECA). Our forestry and arable land use has shown to sequester more carbon than on farm emissions and Kisima is therefore carbon neutral on the farm.
Off farm activities, primarily transportation of flowers, do have a significant carbon footprint, so we are not carbon net zero and we will be looking at ways to reduce emissions in the future.
Kisima Forestry Nursery
Currently in the Kisima Farm tree nursery we have the following stock:
Cordia africana, Prunus africana, Dodonaea augustifolia, Acacia kirkii, Acacia abyssinica, Juniperus procera, Oncoba spinosa, Erythrina sp., Rhamnus staddo, Dovyalis abyssinica,Rapanea melanophloes, Vitex keniensis, Podocarpus falcatus and Syzygium guineense.
For more information please contact forestry@kisima.co.ke or call 0718044941.
Harvesting and planting
The potato harvest for Sorgi season and planting for Kamiti season have both been ongoing this month. There has also been potato grading and sales happening throughout August.
Peas, canola and oats have been harvested and are now ready for processing and sales. There has also been some early panting of wheat in Sorgi fields.
Seed potato impact report 2018
An independant impact report for 2018 found that the sales of 887.09 tonnes of certified seeds in 2018 generated a total benefit to 7,567 households of USD 2.7 million. Since the start of the project in 2013, over 31,000 households have benefitted.
