Climate makes Kenyan farmer focus on silage

About 10 years ago, maize in Kenya was mainly grown for human consumption, but in recent years more and more farmers have chosen to grow silage maize. Some use it for their own livestock, while others see a lucrative trade in it. The reason for this change? The changing climate.

Climate change
Corn cultivation in the country is increasingly suffering from extremely erratic weather conditions. For example, the so-called 'long rainy season', which usually lasts 3 months (March to May), was barely 1 month long this year. This has prevented the corn from being planted in many places, meaning the harvest will take place later. In the places where corn was planted, many harvests failed.

This has been a reason for many farmers to process the maize into animal feed, and specifically silage (silage maize). Harvesting can then take place at an early stage, which prevents the entire harvest from failing. “It currently makes more economic sense to grow corn for animal feed than for human consumption,” Antony Kibet, a dairy farmer in Kenya, told the Chinese news website News.

Silage more popular
Kibet uses 2 hectares of his land for corn and harvested the crop months ago to make silage. "By switching to the production of animal feed, my cows are assured of feed for the next 8 months." Not only the unfavorable weather conditions are a reason for him to switch. "The low prices of corn for human consumption are not profitable."

Corn prices reached 3.500 shillings for a 90 kilo bag (approximately €30,56 per 90 kilos) in early September, although that is the peak of the market. Prices then quickly drop to the equivalent of €9, given the large supply. In addition, the country suffers from cheap imports from neighboring countries. “If you have 5 hectares of corn and sell it for silage, you can make more money because 1 stalk goes for $0,009 (€0,0081),” said Kibet. Early harvesting also saves on pest control, drying and storage costs.