WHY LAUNCH OF BT COTTON IS SWEET NEWS TO FARMERS

 

The recent approval by the Kenyan cabinet of commercialization of Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) Cotton hybrid farming came as a surprise to many who thought the trials will not bring good tidings.

This is because the trials had initially taken more than five years after a task force to oversee the exercise was formed in 2017 and the announcement will now re-energize cotton farming while giving farmers a lifeline to increase their yields.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration has continued to prioritize cotton- textile value chain as one of the critical sectors that contribute to manufacturing growth from the current 9 percent to 15 percent in the year 2022.

Cotton farmers spread across arid areas in the country that might have lost hope in planting the crop will definitely be awaken by the sweet news which will now be a long-lasting solution to the challenges they faced in the early 1990s.

The taskforce involved members drawn from Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Cooperatives, KARLO, agriculture and food authority/ Fibre Crops Directorate, Rivatex, and National Biosafety Authority.

Among the activities the taskforce undertook included; environmental release under confined field trials and national performance trials (NPT) variety development and finally commercialization.

The areas where National Performance Trials (NPT) was conducted comprised of Bura, Mwea, Perkerra, Kwale, Matuga, Kibos, Alupe, and Kerio Valley.

Rivatex East Africa played a crucial role in the lead up to the commercialization exercise by commissioning sensitization of cotton farming in major areas in the country.

The vertically integrated textile industry is one of the biggest players in President Kenyatta’s Big four agenda through the promotion of production of woven garments for local and global markets

Farmers in Siaya, Homa Bay, Busia, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Kilifi, Makueni, Kisumu, Kirinyaga, Meru, Isiolo, Kitui, Bungoma, Lamu, Kericho, Tharaka Nithi, Muranga, Embu, Machakos, Kwale, and Tana River now have a reason to go engage in farming following the commercialization of BT Cotton.

The highlighted areas had initially abandoned farming due to poor prices and above all because of persistent pests are known as bollworm which attacked cotton plants as it neared harvest, leading to huge losses.

Those who bought pesticides also faced a huge cost of production and never realized good fortunes.

They have been forced to spray up to 14 times in a bid to contain bollworms and other pests that are prone to conventional cotton varieties such as Hart89M and KSA811M.

According to Mr. Charles Lagat, Rivatex Cotton programs manage the current production of conventional cotton stands at 572 kilograms per hectare and the availability of hybrid seeds is set to raise the bar up to 2500 kilograms per hectare because of its high resistance to pests.

 Many critics will definitely question the reasons for the government to opt for BT and it is wise to share its benefits cotton compared to conventional seeds that have been in use in the country. It is ideal to note that there are a lot of advantages such as increased yield to farmers.

Through BT, farmers are in a position to harvest more and because of functional textile mills; they will be able to get a ready market.

Similarly, there shall be a reduction of soil degradation due to minimal usage of insecticides. This has been a challenge due to the persistence of the bollworm pests.

BT seeds will help improve the quality of lint eventually improving the living standards of farmers due to increased economic activities.

It is also in the interest of government to see an increase in Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and this can be realized through the growth of value chain such as ginneries, mills and garments due to locally available raw materials. This will also reduce the cost of importation.

I envision the creation of subsidiary industries such as cotton seed cake for dairy farmers and cooking oil derived from cotton. This will also create employment opportunities through the creation of such industries.

Farmers are now looking forward into the New Year with hopes lifted up and ready to go back to their farmers to plant BT cotton.

The state should ensure that it walks with farmers in the adoption of BT hybrid seeds besides provision of extension services and putting its energies on cotton farming which used to be a marketable venture in the 1990s.

The government should also aid in bulking of the seeds to make them available to farmers before the onset of planting season in March 2020.

Ends.

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After years of silence, The Terigin Vision is back online. Full of new ideas and stories that make sense.

DEBATE ON KENYAN SCHOOLGIRLS IN MINI SKIRTS RAGES ON

The current discussion hitting the airwaves in Kenya is whether or not school girls should wear mini skirts, thanks to Rwathia girls high school in Kangema district who recently went on strike demanding shorter and more appealing uniform and adding on it is the controversial remarks made by the Minister for Education Hon Mutula Kilonzo who backed the demands made by the girls of wanting to be allowed to wear short skirts.

The miniskirts debate has seen many leaders including clerics and parents point accusing fingers on the Minister following his remarks he made during a district education day at Chelilis girls high school in Bureti.

“I am in total agreement with them (students) why do you dress a schoolgirl like a nun? These girls do not want to be nuns; they want to be modern like Mutula”, Kilonzo said.

The miniskirt debate has seen most parents call on the Minister to leave their children’s welfare to them and teachers adding that together with the institutions of learning, they are best positioned to know what suits their children. Leaving the question on what is the importance of miniskirts to teenagers over their education?

Some proponents for the miniskirts twist argue that the students should be given the opportunity to dress in line with the current trends in fashion adding that the more the trendy they become, the more decent they are and is the reason that many believe Rwathia girls went on strike over allegations that the skirts were too long and not meant for their ages.

Most argue out that the miniskirts which were most fashionable in Kenya particularly in the early 1960s and 70s didn’t cause any fuss as students went on with their studies comfortably oblivious of the fact that the miniskirt dressing was fashionable and not debatable as is the case at the moment.

Stephen Sorobit 40, a parent of two strongly believes that schoolgirls should forget about wearing miniskirts in school, adding that the current skirt size is ideal and helps in restoring discipline in a child.

“ As a parent I can’t allow my child to put on a miniskirt, this will lead to the rise of indiscipline among students as each one tries to outdo the other in putting on the shortest of them all”, Sorobit explains.

He believes that school heads and parents should have a stake in the kind of uniform they want for the students and the ideal size. He further adds that giving the children an opportunity to dress the way they want yet they are still under the adolescent period will not be appropriate.

“The schoolgirls want to wear miniskirts and yet they are still young in mind and at the same time, they are still trying to discover themselves in the adolescent period making it impossible for them to have their way”, Sorobit reveals.

As the raging debate continues, most teachers in the country have also added their voice on the current issue saying that the students need to put their focus on learning because that is what will make them successful in life adding that clothes won’t add anything towards their quest for education.

“These students should not expect that when they are adorned in miniskirts, then they will automatically pass their exams. In fact it will be a challenge for them because of the current societal inference of someone wearing a miniskirt”, quipped Elsie Muthoni, a head teacher at Chepkigen Secondary.

The Kenyan debate on whether the schoolgirls should put on miniskirts or not is a clear example of the current intricacies in which the students have been able to grasp especially with the current advancements in technology and the ever changing media content mainly from Tv and movies enabling most students to copy what they see.

Kenyan schoolgirls are not alone in fighting for what they think is ‘right’ for them, across the continent some schools have had the same pain of the pinch. In December 23 2009, the independent news site (www.independent.co.uk) reported that students across France revolted demanding that the right to wear raunchy clothing banned by educators. The site indicates that at Lycee Condorcet d’arcdnon in Gironde, 200 students protested against a new dress code which stated that students should not wear low slung trousers, short garments or piercings.

The protest in Essionne was in retaliation to the rules imposed by a new head teacher who banned holes in trousers and in garments above the knee.

Back in Kenya, the debate rages on even after Hon. Mutula Kilonzo came out recently denying his earlier advocacy for miniskirts adding that he only talked about skirts the girls would be comfortable in.

“I will show Kenyans the kind of a skirt I am talking about, then bishops will tell me whether it undermines morality”, he said.

Kenyans now wait to see whether the miniskirts issue will cool off even as politicians and opinion leaders continue to call out against the purported dressing.

WE ARE DOING LITTLE TOWARDS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

The population index as of the year 2011

As we join the rest of world tomorrow in celebrating world population day that has a theme of “Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services.” , it is important to us as a country to realize that little has been done towards the reproductive health services and the theme should be our wake up call.

Most Kenyans especially women still lack information on how to go about family planning and to date is still seen as a taboo to many communities in the country leading to questions on whether our hospitals and health Ministries are really doing their part.

According to World Health Organization, best reproductive system builds on the the right of men and women to be informed and have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of fertility regulation of their choice, and the right of access to appropriate health care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant.

To date, it is imperative to note that the mortality rate of infants in our country is high due to lack of best health care and education to their mothers on how to take care of them. This is an area that the health ministries should really put their great focus in safeguarding our future leaders.
Lets not celebrate the day as a formality and forget that we also have an obligation to take which is pumping in funds to the reproductive health.

FACING THE PANEL IN AN INTERVIEW

Am just from an interview with one of the christian media stations and for real, if you thought that news watching and reading was a luxury to you then you are so wrong.

The first questions posed by the panelists after your self introduction is the topical issues happening in and around the country. in most cases one can ask you to explain the latest scenes that made headlines in our country or even county.

It is mostly embarrassing to tell the interviewer that you have no idea of what is going on, in most cases most interviewees just gaze blankly at the daring group with no answers.

Before going to any interview it is important to be knowledgeable enough with whats going on around you so that in case such questions come by, you will be more than knowledgeable enough to satisfy the panel.

 

Don't embarrass yourself with a shallow mind because after that experience, you will come out of the room not knowing what to do next coz of not believing yourself.

2012, THE YEAR THAT WE HAVE LIVED THROUGH IT .by Silah Koskei Terigin on Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 1:18pm ·

The much awaited year of 2012 is here with us and there is something remarkable abt this new year. it can simply be stated that most of us have lived through the year 2012.

You can prove me wrong but am right in wat write. first, the year 2011 passed quietly without much fuse because most of us lived through the year 2012 because all the activities and plans were all in the name of the new year. a good indicator is the political metre in our country, our leaders have never had a rest throughout the year 2011 with some abandoning their family duties to hunt for votes during the festive season a new style that has never been experienced before.

Some might purport that 2012 is a totally different year not as a number but with outlined activities yet to take shape ahead but something that will not change from the rest is the smooth transition of 2011 political, economic and social madness through to 2013.

Lets all pull our sleeves together as we prepare to usher in the new yet familiar terrain of 2012. HAPPY 'NEW' YEAR.