NAIROBI, Kenya, June 5 – Swiss biological agriculture manufacturer Andermatt has set up its office in Kenya as it eyes regional expansion.
The firm provides natural solutions for soil as well as pest and disease management.
It will be based in Naivasha and have a breeding facility for breeding insects.
“The Phytoseiulus persimilis feeds on red spider mites, and consumes up to five adults or twenty eggs a day providing an effective biological control instead of spraying chemicals”, said Hamish Ker, Andermatt Regional Commercial Manager, in Naivasha during a visit to the facility.
Currently, the facility produces Phytoseiulus mites that are harvested daily for introduction in farms across Kenya to combat the destructive red spider mite, especially in flowers.
It targets producing up to 20 million phytoseiulus per week.
As the world grapples with climate change and food security challenges, Ker said there is need to revert to regenerative and sustainable agriculture systems to enhance soil and plant health for safe, improved farm productivity.
Natural solutions will also improve the efficacy/cost of pest control/plant nutrition and reduce the need to rely only on traditional chemical interventions and salt fertilizers, he added.
“By using nature’s solutions, we can reduce the need for pesticides which in turn reduces pressure on the environment as well as production costs and makes for a more conducive farming environment.”
The Andermatt demo farm is growing maize, sukuma, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, wheat, sorghum, sunflower, and millet—Kenya’s most popular crops—in a control experiment to show how mass root stimulation and soil conditioning can result in increased productivity with limited investment.
