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Gilbert Gathu, Harvest Limited:

Kenyan farmers preparing for El Niño

Kenyan Farmers are preparing for the upcoming El Niño. This weather phenomenon will cause heavy rainfalls in East Africa in November and could damage a lot of farms in that area. So, in order to minimize the damage to their farms, growers are preparing their greenhouses and crops. At Harvest Limited, a rose grower, preparations are also in full swing.


Preparing the crop.

Preparations
At Harvest limited, they are making every effort to prepare their 40ha sized greenhouses ready for the heavy rainfall. "We are currently opening all the drainage systems and repairing the greenhouses where necessary. In this way, the greenhouse will hold a large amount of rain," says Gilbert Gathu, Sales and Marketing Manager at Harvest Limited. Besides that, they are also preparing their crops. As the humidity will increase, the chance of diseases occurring and spreading will increase too. "In order to prevent any spread of diseases we use proactive measures by drenching the flower beds with fungicides to combat fungal diseases like powdery mildew and downy mildew, which also involves foliar feeding to increase the immune system of the leaves/plant. The crops are being pruned to clear the bush and the employees are being trained on El Niño awareness in case of emergency."

Production low
"We are lucky that the season is low when El Niño is expected to arrive," says Gathu. The production of Harvest Limited should increase in weeks 48 till 52. "Hopefully the damage to our greenhouse and plants will be limited, so we can fully concentrate on the core business and preparation for our Valentine's sales next year."

Safe roads
Often these heavy rainfalls damage the roads, which can cause delays. Fortunately, according to Gathu this will not be the case as the roads towards the airport are well prepared for El Niño. "The roads are very safe. Drainage across most parts of the country has been made in preparation," he says. This enables them to deliver their products on time.

For more information
Harvest Limited
Gilbert Gathu
Email: [email protected]
www.harvestflowers.com
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