Velma Wekesa, an officer with aak-GROW Kenya, wears a virtual reality headset during a Farmers Field Day at Olenguruone Kuresoi South in Nakuru on 17 April 2025.
The virtual reality handset made its way into agriculture in Kenya towards the end of last year.
Farmers can now access a real-time imitative system. It is a learning experience that focuses on responsible practices.
The headset resembles the one used in video games. aak-GROW Kenya Steward Officer, Velma Wekesa, says the firm introduced the virtual handset to improve the lives of farmers, especially smallholders.
To use the headset, the farmer needs to download the Crop Life app on his or her smartphone.
The gadget has a section the smartphone is inserted. Once the phone is placed in and locked, open the Crop Life app.
The device is then mounted on one’s head. Thereafter, the farmer chooses the options he wants to learn.
Velma Wekesa steward Officer at aak-GROW Kenya mounting a Virtual Reality Headset with a smartphone during a field day in Olenguruone in Kuresoi South on April 17, 2025.
Wekesa says the app has content on the responsible use of pest control products, including pesticides. Before mixing and applying pesticides and other chemicals on the farm, for instance, one must have personal protective equipment (PPE).
“The app has a programme showing the wearing of PPE appropriately. The farmer is also shown how to mix the pesticides or herbicides,” Wekesa says.
The other training in the app is on the importance of reading labels on chemical containers.
“It is important for the farmer to read and understand the label because it has the instructions to be followed. The farmers are assured of good results if they use the products in a responsible manner. This protects human and health as well as the environment,” she says.
The device was invented in Vietnam, a major producer of rice and heavy user of herbicides and pesticides. As a developing country, the behaviour of farmers in Vietnam and Kenya is similar.
Because many may not be well-educated, they do not follow the instructions and guidelines on labels.
Beatrice Owano,a Compliance Enforcement Assistant at Pest Control Product Board takes farmers through responsible use of pesticide during a field in Olenguruone in Kuresoi South in on April 17, 2025.
That is why the innovators came up with the idea of the virtual reality.
Wekesa says with such technology, there will be a big shift in crop and animal production, particularly in the use of pest control products.
There is debate on whether the world should go organic or continue using chemicals in food production. Experts say chemicals can yield good results if used according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
The uptake of PPE in Kenya is still low but Steward Mashinani programme is out to change this.
The programme is a partnership between national and devolved government entities, regulators and manufacturers of the pest control products.
Steward Mashinani, piloted in Nakuru one year ago, is now in eight of the region’s 11 sub-counties.
The programme has incorporated administrators and religious leaders who remind local farmers to strictly follow the guidelines given by chemical manufactures.
The programme is resource intensive but aak-GROW has been training male spray service providers aged 18 to 45 years.
Why men? Wekesa says women are discouraged from spraying as they are family caregivers. They are involved in most household chores and may contaminate food, water or other drinks with the chemicals.
Benjamin Kemboi, a spray service provide in Amalo location, Kuresoi South constituency, says he has received training on how to detect counterfeit pest control products, read labels and correctly offer service to farmers.
Before the idea of the spray service providers, many farmers in the area neither read labels nor cared to have protective gear.
Kemboi serves small and large-scale farmers with a spray session going for Sh50 to Sh100 per pump.
Philip Langat, a farmer in Amalo, says Steward Mashinani is a milestone, considering that the region produces vegetables, Irish potatoes and other foods that require spraying at various development stages.
The farmer used to apply pesticides without PPE in the past.
“I’m now familiar with effective and safe ways of spraying my crops,” Langat says.
