Technology driven farming on show at Naivasha Hortfair
This year’s Naivasha Hortfair was marked by a technological showing. There were several companies that were offering technologies that farmers can incorporate into their farming practices.
The fair was graced by the Deputy Governor for Nakuru, Dr. Erick Korir. “Nakuru County plays a critical role in the horticulture sector especially the flowers predominantly grown in our County” said the Deputy Governor. “We were impressed by the exhibitions and technological know how exhibited by the stakeholders in the horticulture sector” continued Dr. Korir.
The Deputy Governor also launched Vipimo which is the brainchild of Dutch based Upande Company. The application helps farmers know the soil moisture, temperature and humidity of the area which guides their planting pattern. He was joined by Trade CECM Raymond Komen and other County officials.
On his part, Mark de Blois, the CEO of Upande said that farmers need to know what is happening with the climate. “To know is to measure” he expressed about Vipimo which uses the Internet of Things (IOT) through sensors that can track water levels in tanks, power, humidity, soil moisture, PH, EC, CI, temperature, door position, valves and vehicles. “You can then get live sensor data and alerts on a device of your choice e.g phones, online etc” read their press release.
Another company that was using technology to advance farming is Cropnuts. Their stand had a virtual reality headset that attendees would wear and take a virtual farm tour. The virtual agronomist explains what issues farmers face and what remedies to use. Reinder van der Meer who is the Business Development Director said the application is an “outpatient center for farmers, the concept of having access to an agronomist through instructional videos”
Reinder says that the virtual reality application is not a product for sale but just a service for farmers. The company is building farm clinics through certified local agronomists. “We are building a sustainable extension system using modern technology” said Reinder.
Another technology that was on offer at the Fair was a robotic flower handler by Jamafa Machinery B.V. The robotic arm can be used to create flower bouquets on a bouquet line. It would do so by picking different flowers from segmented sections on the bouquet line. The robotic arm has soft rubber tips that make it soft enough to pick up strawberries and eggs.
Karel Van Hattun, the General Manager at Jamafa says that “robots don’t make mistakes and they can work 24 hours in a day”. The company is offering a manual bouquet line that can process 3000 bouquets per hour.
The fair was descibed by Simon Kuria as “good and encouraging” Simon is an agronomist with Greenlife. He said that he saw a lot of farmers. “Do more marketing and incorporate small scale farmers” said Simon about next year’s fair.
On his part, Victor Juma, the Business Manager at Syngenta Professional Solutions said there were more exhibitors both large and small scale and attendees”. “There is a lot of information on new things like FCM, more things for farmers, a diversity of things” he said.
It was the first time for Proroot to exhibit at the fair. Alice Wairimu from Proroot said that “it was less busier than when she had come as an attendee but generally okay”. “Feedback makes it better” she said about next year’s fair. She was able to meet more customers and farmers whom she only talks to on the phone.
There was an award ceremony at the close of the fair with winners being awarded. The award for the chemical category went to Elgon Kenya and Osho Chemicals . For the flower or breeder and propagator of the Fair the award went to Plantech. For the charity section, the award was given to Club Foot Association of Kenya. The most innovative award went to Kenya Flower Pots. The motor vehicles award
