The low production of maize in the country has been attributed to diseases, poor pest control methods, wrong use of fertilizers and failure to innovate.

Currently, Kenya farmers’ productivity per acre in maize production stands at 2 metric tonnes as compared to Tanzania and Zambia’s 3 and 3.5 metric tonnes respectively.

As a result the country has for decades resulted in the import of millions of tonnes of maize to address the shortages and feed its increasing population.

To address this, farmers have been urged to procure genuine, government approved and environmentally friendly chemicals that promise higher yields from their farms.

According to the General Managing Director, Rainbow Company in East Africa, Murari Sharma, the main challenges currently facing farmers are poor use of chemicals, which leads to low production.

Sharma said the company had introduced various cost-effective and innovative products that promised to reverse decades of poor yields by controlling destructive pests and diseases.

He said Kenya, where maize production occupied more than 40 percent of farms cultivation had grappled with the destructive fall army worms that had left farmers counting losses running into millions of shillings.

The Director said the company has introduced in the Kenyan market a cost-effective chemical to control the army worms, which would in turn increase farm yields by 10 percent.

“Our range of chemical products introduced in the Kenyan market will enhance productivity for farmers by 10 percent while they are cost-effective by 7 percent,” said Sharma.

Sharma made remarks during a field visit in Naivasha, an event that attracted over 5,000 farmers from different counties.

On his part, the company CEO Wicky Wang said the chemicals introduced met the country and global quality measures and were environmentally friendly amidst calls to control the level of toxicity in farms locally.

Wang said through cutting edge technology and innovation, the range of chemical products would help farmers increase their yields and returns.

According to Agatha Musau, a distributor, the products such as Europlus, readout, and turncap have shown improved efficacy in potatoes, vegetables and maize farming.

Musau said the chemicals were cost-friendly and had shown better results in farms as compared with other products.

On his part, David Njau, a coffee farmer, said the introduction of five-star chemicals offered relief to the control of fungal infection in coffee trees, mainly during cold seasons.

He welcomed the products, which are cheaper and readily available to farmers, noting that they would offer relief by containing destructive pests and diseases.