The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari) has developed a vaccine against a contagious lung infection in livestock, known as bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) or lung plague. Kari researchers say the new vaccine is effective and affordable. Initial trials indicate a second vaccination (a booster) raises protection levels of between 80 per cent and 90 per cent. […]

A love for mother nature drove Margaret Sole’s family to live next to the Ondago Swamp in Homa Bay County. With the sole purpose of conserving the ecosystem and protecting the village’s source of livelihood, the family has opted to live next to the swamp, which draws its water from surrounding rivers. The swamp is […]

For decades, Christine Odugo has been wading through the shallow Lake Kanyaboli waters to harvest papyrus reeds to make mats. The Kanyaboli waters are not safe, for the lake is home to deadly pythons. But Odugo, 64, dares fate everyday in an effort to feed her family. In this region, most locals automatically become fishmongers, […]

Researchers have discovered a chemical which attracts malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, a discovery which could boost malaria control efforts. The naturally occurring chemical, cedrol, found in mosquito breeding sites near Lake Victoria, the researchers say, could be used in traps to ‘attract and kill’ the female mosquito and thus prevent reproduction. While current methods have reduced the […]

It is boom time for Kisumu’s business community after the full weight of the Presidency, Council of Governors and county assemblies descended on the lakeside city for the Devolution Conference at the Tom Mboya Labour College. All hotels are full after hundreds of delegates and other visitors thronged the town for the meeting, with many […]

KENYA: For many years, George Otiep, 37, was selling green maize directly from his farm for fear that the maize stalk borer commonly known as ‘Osama’ would destroy his crop. This left his family grappling with severe food shortages every year. “Before Osama invaded, I used to grow grain that would last my family until […]

Kisumu is synonymous with fish and everybody who travels to the city, is expected to have a bite, thanks to Lake Victoria. The growing demand for fish has subsequently seen many business people venture into fish trade to reap from the huge number of customers making their way to the Lakeside. But with dwindling Lake […]

Kevine Okello, a resident of Kano Plains in Kisumu County, is a worried man after an infectious parasite invaded his yellow oleander trees, locally known as chamama. Because of its beautiful flowers and slender leaves, the oleander tree (Thevetia peruviana) is used by many in the larger Nyanza region to fence homes. Oleander is a […]