₦airaland Forum

What are they even fighting over?

I have no issue with the North East Development Commission (NEDC) as long the effort is made to fund it from the proceeds of their agricultural and mineral resources!

TimothyNkenu:
Without accommodation or food... 90,400 KSH (it's about 120,000 for the first semester).

It is expensive as 120,000ksh is $1,200! You decide if you can go with it.

Newway2:
I will sincerely appreciate it if ds cld be pulled tru. If u don't mind, I will love it if beetroot & squash seeds cld be included.
I will just pay d naira equivalent to ur guy here in Nigeria.

Tnx in advance

Is technisem Nigeria not stocking beetroot and squash seeds?

Newway2:
I wld love to hv d pepino melon seed/seedling in Nigeria. I wld appreciate if u cld facilitate this. Am also interested in d other exotic vegies like beetroot, squash etc.

How can u be of assistance?

I got info someone will be coming to Nairobi from Lagos next week (though not yet confirmed), that may be the best bet of you getting the pepino melon seedlings soonest. If the schedule is confirmed, then we can work out something.

TimothyNkenu:
The Communications department is their specialty.

Where will you rather suggest?

Is it too expensive?

Yes communication is their speciality but as a private university, the fees should be higher than public universities. What is their stated fees?

onyeogalu1:
Please I sent you pm

I did reply immediately.

Our population is a blessing to the government when it comes to generating revenue out of us but when it comes to them providing service they will say we are over-populated!

NDLEA will be interested in the album!

TimothyNkenu:
Undergraduate.

I already submitted in.

I'm a Nigerian but I currently reside in Uganda.

That is nearby, just take a bus to Nairobi. Why the preference for daystar?

TimothyNkenu:
Daystar (Athi River)

Undergraduate or Postgraduate? what is the status of your application?

Looking beautiful.

Congratulations to him.

States should be collapsed into regions.

baba11:
Probably...

I strongly believe that there are Nigerians in Nigeria who can achieve similar, it is just that such works are not just within our view,

rudebouy:
Abeg who be IITA na?

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan.

TimothyNkenu:
Hi,

Are you still in Kenya? I've applied for admission there.

Which school?

baba11:
From these pics i am seeing...i believe it will be very hard to do this here since these seeds are the improved ones not the one we can see around..is IITA up to the task?

It should not be beyond IITA, they should have the capacity.

Newway2:
Hello, Were u able to send d pepino melon as u said? Can ur relative be contacted to gv out d seeed/seedling?
Am interested in planting it.

I didn't get to send the melon down because my schedule tend to not always have me around when someone is flying down to Nigeria. The seedlings are readily available though the nursery that stock them is about an hour and thirty minutes drive away from Nairobi.

They will never learn.... well they have a right to self-destruct!

Interesting comments....

Sanyeri!

We need a list of how much has been recovered so far and who did the refunding!

giles14:
making powder from fresh tomatoes? without drying. u wer dey educated. pls wetin u study

Of course it has to be dehydrated just as mangos are made into dried chips.

The cypress trees surrounding the quarter-acre farm in Kasarani, Nairobi, sway from left to right as the wind blows.

Swaying together with the trees, albeit slightly, are mango, tree tomato, apple and orange fruit trees grown inside polythene bags.

Samuel Manene is the owner of what he calls the ‘mobile orchard’.

“This is my orchard and it gives me more than I need. I harvest mangoes, oranges, apples and tree tomatoes as from any other farm,” says Manene, a prison officer who holds a degree in crop protection from the University of Nairobi and recently completed a second degree in horticulture from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

The practice, according to him, suits urban dwellers, who have rented houses and have limited space.

“With a portable orchard, you enjoy not only the fruits, but you can move with the garden if you are shifting base,” he offers.

According to Manene who is the Kiambu GK Prison farm manager, the movable orchard works well with mangoes, oranges, tree tomatoes, strawberries, paw paws and apples.

Sergeant Manene, who also came up with the pomato crop (a plant grafted from tomato and potato), says making a mobile orchard mainly involves grafting a seedling with a bud from a mature tree to ensure the plant starts bearing fruits within a short period.

But before the grafting, one should prepare the soil. This involves getting loam soil, which is then mixed with animal and compost manure or fertiliser to ensure it has adequate nutrients.

The soil is then put in plastic cans or polythene bags measuring one-and-a-half feet squared that help maintain moisture. One makes two holes on the side of the bag to avoid water-logging.

Water is of essence, and according to Manene, the crops should be supplied with plenty of it, most preferably using drip irrigation technique.

Manure and fertiliser are also important as they ensure the roots do not grow to penetrate out of the bags or break the containers. Soil, organic manure and pebbles are mixed in a ratio of 4:2:1 before being stuffed in the plastic bag.

“Roots grow longer because the plant wants to reach where nutrients and water are. But if you ensure that there is a constant supply of them in the bags, the roots will not grow that long,” Manene says, noting that his goal is to ensure that more people in urban areas grow fruits.

MOVE THEM WHEN RELOCATING

With the plants being in portable containers, the owner enjoys the benefits of getting fresh fruits, and can also move them when they are relocating without destroying the plants.

A farmer controls the height of the plant through pruning, and if well taken care of, Manene says a mango or orange tree can last for a life time and yield up to 1,000 fruits annually.

“The plants grow to between 5 and 7 feet. But you only realise this if you supply adequate manure, fertiliser and water. If the polythene bags and the plastic containers wear out, you can always change and still maintain the plant,” he says, adding that it takes about one-and-a half years for the plant to start bearing fruits.

He sells his fruits that include oranges, mangoes and apples at Sh30 each to consumers while wholesalers, including the Afya juice making company, buy at Sh20 each

Joseph Mureithi, the principal of Waruhiu Agricultural Development Centre in Githunguri, Kiambu County, says:
“A farmer adopting the practice needs to know the exact amount of manure or fertiliser to apply and in what duration. He also needs to closely manage the plant itself.”

Knowing the exact amount of foliar fertiliser or manure to use can help one dictate how the fruit grows, including when to flower.

Apart from enjoying the fruits, one can also practice mixed cropping by planting vegetables such as tomatoes, sukuma wiki and spinach inside the bags carrying the fruits.

“The only problem with the technology is that you cannot do it on large-scale, then there is a lot of knowledge gap where farmers may not know how to control the height of the plant and manipulate its growth.”

More research needs to be done on the technique to boost it, he adds.

The self-degradation of their environment is not even in their thoughts. The loss of fertile farmland do not bother them, they mess up the capacity of their land to produce and will be forced to buy food grown in other parts of the Country. If that system works for them, who am I to think otherwise!

Personally l see no need in them being summoned by the national assembly for a talk show rather their capacity on post-harvest preservation should be worked on. We need not import from neighbouring countries because we can easily be self-sufficient.

Their is a huge disconnect between the harvest in farms and our dining tables. For those who have worked the land in the rural areas can attest to wastages that is the lot of most rural farmers. There are crops some farmers don't even bother to harvest because the pricing in their local markets is not motivating enough.

Many village markets l have visited always do have heaps of unsold farm produce being left to rot away, that is why goats roaming there are always looking fresh. Whereas a simple innovation that does not require electricity can extend the life of those produce for an extra week or two.

Why can we not have mangoes all year round when the imported apples are always available? Apples that have been harvested months before it finally arrives Nigeria.

Knowledge is lacking!

AZeD1:
Can a husband be snatched?

When he is not a handbag!

lielbreema:
Pls do. My email is annria456@gmail.com

I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks

Noted.