Big gamble with crops creates jobs

They went against the grain and tried their luck in farming, in an area dominated by fishing as the main economic activity.

But just five months into this venture, Felix Wande, 28 and Winnie Akoth, 23, have managed to create an oasis of crops in Kisui village, Mbita Sub-county, Homa Bay County.

They have concentrated on beans, tomatoes, cowpeas, spinach and collard greens (sukuma wiki) on three acres that they leased for a year starting last October.

Already, they are raking in profits, a quite a successful story in an area that is predominantly dry most of the year.

But it hasn’t been an easy ride for the two farmers, considering the substantial amount of money and time they have invested in the whole venture.

This being a dry area, they use irrigation, with the lake being the sole provider of the water.It hasn’t been easy for the duo as the farm is nearly 30 metres from the lake.

To ensure every crop gets enough water, the business partners have invested in pipes, a generator and the many hours they spend in watering the plants.

“We have invested in over 60, two-inch diameter pipes and a 7.1Hp generator. These are crucial equipment in the whole crop watering process,” says Akoth.

They pump the irrigation water from the lake, an exercise that is usually done once or twice a week, depending on the weather. “When it gets too sunny, the soil gets too dry meaning that we have to water the plants more,” he says.

The practice entails attaching, dismantling and re-attaching the pipes to reach all parts of the farm and water each and every crop. This takes all day and makes the venture a full-time job.

According to Prof Richard Mulwa, Director of Crop Management Research Training at Egerton University, in such a hot and dry environment, digging water pans that collect run off water during the rainy season was a better option.

“This would be especially useful to aspiring farmers who live far from the lake and cannot afford the pipes to water their crops,” he explains.

TRAININGS GIVE FARMERS KNOW-HOWS

So far, they’ve had three tomato harvests since January, raking in a gross profit of approximately Sh150,000. “We harvested in three stages, depending on the different planting phases we’ve had,” explains Wande.

But the cost of planting tomatoes isn’t cheap, as they’ve had to invest a substantial amount of money in the whole exercise.

“For instance we used 30 grams of tomato seeds at a cost of Sh3,200. We also spent Sh2,500 on petrol that was used to fuel the generator as well as an extra Sh1,000 for labour. We paid Sh9,000 to lease the piece of land for a year, apart from an extra Sh15,000 on pesticides,” he adds.

“The beans are yet to mature, but we’ve harvested sacks of spinach and collard greens, making a profit of only Sh4,000 and Sh8,000 respectively,” he says.

He attributes the low sales and resultant minimal profits to the villagers’ dependency on fish and traditional vegetables.
According to Prof Mulwa, being in farmer groups is the solution to this challenge.

“It becomes easier for them to market their produce as compared to lone farmers,” he explains.

Farmers also have to be trained in a manner that they become well versed with the contents in the pesticides they are using.

“This becomes easier to explain to consumers and deals with the perception that these substances are dangerous,” says Prof Mulwa.

The training gives the farmers the know-how in regard to use of the chemical substances.

“For instance they should know that crops are supposed to be harvested at a certain period after use of these substances,” he explains.

However, the main challenge for the farmers remains conflict with wild animals, particularly the hippopotamus, which feed on their crops.

“This mostly happens at night when these animals come out of the lake and feed on our crops. The saddest thing is that there’s nothing we can do about it as it is a crime to kill them. Also we don’t have the funds to use in fencing our farm,” says Wande.

INFLUENCING OTHER VILLAGERS INTO FARMING

Because of the locals’ dependence on fishing, the two farmers initially had to contend with the perception that farming was an alien activity.

“There are some people who even leave their livestock to feed on our crops and asking why they do this only brews much conflict,” explains Akoth.

For the two farmers, what started as a small venture and a stepping stone to other things, has now become a full-time job.

Wande says he made the decision to venture into farming after completing secondary school in 2011.

Lack of employment pushed him into farming. “I got a mean grade of C+ in KCSE examination and couldn’t get direct entry into university. Also my family couldn’t afford to take me through the parallel degree programme. Farming was therefore the only option,” he explains.

However, as time went by his interest grew and before he knew it, he had saved enough from farming and bought a generator and pipes.

But it was until last year that he fully embraced farming as a source of livelihood.

As for Akoth, this was a means of getting money to educate her siblings after the death of their parents.

According to her, despite their gains from this activity, it is still a task to convince the villagers on the importance of farming.

“We are living in the lake region, an area traditionally known for fishing. The minimal amount of rainfall hasn’t made things easier for us when it comes to influencing villagers to venture into farming,” she explains.

However, it is difficult to ignore the impact they have had as more and more people in the area are already considering trying their hand in farming.

“Perhaps they have witnessed how we have been making money especially through the residents who come to buy our produce,” she adds.