DEKALB this week awarded one lucky farmer the grand prize of a Nissan pickup, following a countrywide marketing campaign that ran from March 8, 2019 – April 26, 2019. Beatrice Kerubo Onyiego from Manga, Nyamira County won a Nissan NP200.
DEKALB rolled out the campaign in time for the long-rains season with the aim of sensitizing farmers on the importance of authenticating their DEKALB purchase. A total of 45 farmers won various other prizes during mini draws held earlier. To enter the competition, all the farmer had to do was scratch, reveal the verification code on their seed bag and send this via phone text message.
Ms Kerubo said, “This is a dream come true. I have always wanted a pick-up and all I needed was to purchase certified maize seed. DEKALB has made this possible.”
The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) seed certification service ensures only seed meeting the acceptable standards of seed viability, vigour, purity and health are availed in the market.
Speaking during the awards ceremony, Bayer East Africa Managing Director Eric Bureau the campaign was meant to educate farmers on importance of buying certified seed: “The objective of this campaign was not to only promote DEKALB and create awareness on our hybrid seed varieties,” he said. “It was also meant to educate farmers on the importance of purchasing their seed inputs from approved retailers and certifying their purchases to ascertain their quality.”
Maize is Kenya’s most important food crop, it accounts for 51% of all staple crops grown in the country. Addressing this huge challenge of counterfeit seed in the market directly contributes to the country’s food security.
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