KALRO Apps
KALRO COFFEE 1.0
Coffee consumption has existed for more than 1,000 years leadingtothe current status of being the most consumed drink to waterwithover 33.33 Billion cups per month and most traded commodityafteroil as per 2017 statistics. Coffee propagation culturecommenced inArabia as early as 575 in Yemen and later in the 16thcentury inPersia. Coffee drinking was appreciated in Europe in1615, afterbeing brought by traders, later Germans, Frenchmen, andItalianswho introduced in their colonies. The Dutch introduced abotanicalgarden of Amsterdam that made and triggered an increase indrinkingand defining a culture of the Europeans. Netherland andFrance'sexperiences led to the expansion of the coffee cultivationto otherEuropean colonies due to the readily available Europeanmarket.Coffee sustains over 100 million people globally and israted amongthe largest export commodities in the world. Coffeaarabica(arabica or highland coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robustaorlowland coffee) are the main coffee species that arecommerciallygrown, however, there are 124 coffee species existingand whichhave been named to date. Coffee Arabica contributes 70% ofproducedcoffee while Robusta contributes 30% (ICO, 2016). Coffee isto dateplanted in over 11 million hectares in the world spread over60countries in the tropics. In Kenya, coffee was first plantedin1893 at Bura in Taita hills thereafter it was grown in Kibweziin1900 followed by Kiambu in 1904, since then coffee growingwasexpanded to several areas of Central Kenya, Meru, Kisii,Machakos,Mount Elgon, and Rift Valley.
KALRO Tea Seedling 1.0
Establishing a tea nursery whether for sale or for ownplantingsrequires meticulous planning so that the plants are readyfortransplanting or sale at the right time. Lack of planningmayresult in plants being ready for transplanting in the offplantingseason, causing losses where transplants die or there arenocustomers to purchase the plants. Keeping plants unnecessarilyinthe nursery for an extra year or season is costly and shouldbeavoided. It has been confirmed that proper nurserypracticesenhance the production of robust plants in the field. Agoodnursery, therefore, should target at least an 80% survival rateinorder to recover the cost of investment. A high nurserysurvivalrate implies that if one is operating a commercial nurserythereare chances of making a good profit and building confidenceamongcustomers. Likewise, to a grower who wishes to establish hisownnursery, high survival rate will result in higher returns andhencerecovery of inputs in the long run. For a grower again itischeaper to establish own nursery than to buy andtransportseedlings.
