INTERCROPPING.
JANE MUGAMBI 22ND FEB 2011.
The Mwea Irrigation Agricultural Development (MIAD) Centre has released a list of crops that farmers in rice growing schemes could grow to boost their incomes.

The lead rice researcher at the centre, Dr. Raphael Wanjogu, said research had shown that farmers could grow legumes and maize when rice was off season, utilizing their land that otherwise lies fallow for added income.

Dr. Wanjogu, who spoke at the centre during a field day to demonstrate the crops today said besides improving the food security situation in the rice schemes, growing the legumes also boosted soil fertility, reducing the farmers’ need for artificial fertilization of the soil.

The farmers saw healthy crops of green grams, soya and black beans and cow peas which Wanjogu said could be planted during the long rains between March and June and with limited irrigation during the dry months between September and October when there is no rice in the fields.


Dr. Wanjogu said the rotation of the legumes with rice had been proven to yield very good results for both crops as the legumes utilized residue fertilizers after rice while they fixed the nitrogen in the soil for the next rice crop.

The centre has also come up with a package of technologies to make the growing of the Nerica rain-fed rice more affordable and therefore more competitive to imported non-aromatic rices.


Among the new technology is zero tillage where farmers kill the weeds before introducing the rice and seed broadcasting to ensure better crop coverage and therefore higher yields per unit.

The researcher observed that with guidance and supervision, the farmers could also be contracted to grow seed maize since the rice schemes were ideal for seed multiplication.