Barley farming in Narok set for growth with new disease resistant varieties

Ann Salaton-KNA

The production of barley in Narok County is expected to rise following the invention of two new varieties that give higher yields and are less resistant to diseases.

Speaking while unveiling the latest variety at Olokurto area in Narok North Sub County, the Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) Managing Director Mark Ocitti said the new varieties are expected to motivate farmers to produce more barley.

The new varieties known as ‘Propino’ and ‘Laureate’ are said to be disease resistant, allowing reduced fungicide inputs and mature early.

Both varieties, he said, have excellent yields producing about seven tonnes per acre as opposed to the old variety ‘Grace’, which yielded six tonnes per acre.

The MD revealed that his company used Sh600 million to buy barley from farmers in the Narok region in the year 2024, expecting the production to go high this year.

“We came here because this area produces a lot of barley that we use in our production. We want to assure our farmers that we will continue supporting them to produce more yields with less input,” reiterated Mr. Ocitti.

“We are part and parcel of the farmers in this region and the research we do must benefit the farmers, currently, we are looking for varieties that do not attract the Quelea birds,” he added.

Narok Barley Farmers Association Chairman, David Ole Kilesi thanked KBL for always giving information that is relevant to the farmers.

He however challenged the company to build a processing factory or put up a collection point in the county to avoid the cost of transporting the harvest to Nakuru, where there is a collection point.

The barley chairman admitted that the production has been going low because of climate change and land sub-division.

KBL agriculture officer Jared Gacheru said Narok contributes 30 per cent of the barley they use for production. Other regions that produce barley are the Timau, Nakuru and Mobei area.

The officer revealed that Narok County currently has 500 farmers who have planted barley on 40, 000 acres of land. They, however, aim to increase the acreage to 60, 000 acres.

“In Kenya, we have 600 barley farmers, of which 500 are from Narok County. Other regions practice barley farming in large numbers,” he said.

One of the farmers, John Ndungu, asked KBL to provide transport for their produce to reduce the cost that the farmers incur transporting the barley to Nakuru County.

One acre of barley can produce 20 bags in a good season, which is sold at Sh5, 000 per bag.