Finger Millet (Eleusine corocona) Production in Lower Eastern, Kenya: Status, Constraints and Opportunities

Due to its drought resistant nature, high nutritional content and ability to produce with few inputs, finger millet is one of the crops that can combat food insecurity in arid and semi-arid lands like eastern Kenya. Against this backdrop, a survey was carried out in Kalama and Katangi divisions of Machakos and Kitui counties, to assess status, constraints and opportunities for finger millet production. Logit model was used to determine effect of education, land size, age and gender on finger millet production. Finger millet production was reported by 93% of respondents in Machakos and 92% in Kitui, to be on the decline in the past 20 years due to; lack of seeds (47%, 50%), pests and diseases (33%, 20.8%), overdependence on maize (97.8%, 95.9%) and climate change (20%, 29.2%) in Machakos and Kitui, respectively. Constraints in production were; blast disease (43.8%, 37.2%), bird predation (39.9%, 39.6%), weed infestation (57.1%, 55.8%), climate change (30%, 39.2%) and lack of seeds (63%, 77.4%) in Machakos and Kitui, correspondingly. Opportunities in production lay in the cereals capacity to withstand climate change (76%, 76%), high nutrient content (74%, 85%), market availability (63%, 74%) and extension services (87%, 88%) in Machakos and Kitui counties, respectively. Education and land size had a positive effect on millet production (0.807, 1.095) while gender had a negative effect (-3.684, -1.170) in Machakos and Kitui counties, respectively. Based on the results, finger millet production in both regions has been on a downward trend but there is a lot of potential for increased production, as evidenced by opportunities identified by farmers. It’s only through addressing constraints in production by relevant stake holders that opportunities can be realized and consequently status of finger millet production improved in eastern Kenya.