Yellow passion fruit output was worth Ksh134 million in 2017 with most of it consumed locally showing the huge market potential for a fruit that is hugely popular in supermarkets and is regarded as the best tasting passion fruit in the world, compared to its more acidic-tasting purple coloured cousin.
It is one of the most profitable crops grown on the smallest land units ever, with a farmer able to earn a living from as little as 0.3 to 0.6 of an acre, research shows.
It is also in high demand and is the most expensive Kenyan horticultural export on UK supermarket shelves, with a kilo retailing at a princely 15 sterling pounds (about KSh2,000), but the yellow passion fruit is in short supply.
“The markets want Kenyan passion fruits, but there are none in our supermarkets,” said Mr Eric Ogumo, a manager with UK retail giant Tescos in Africa.
“The world is open to the fruits, but not enough is being produced here,” he told a meeting of farmers, buyers and development partners during a workshop titled ‘Making Kenya the Global Leader in Passion Fruit Production and Marketing’, in Eldoret. In Africa, the other passion fruit producing countries are South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The biggest producer in the world is Brazil, but it doesn’t export. Ecuador and Colombia are big exporters, but they don’t produce year-round like Kenya.
“Kenya has a big potential to fill the huge gap, especially in the UK. There’s also a new variety, Esther, which is in high demand but not being grown here. South Africa is doing it, and we can borrow from them for diversity,” he said.
The market potential for Kenya’s passion fruit is 120,000 metric tonnes (MT) and is projected to grow to 146,000 MT by 2025. Between 2011 and 2015, Kenya imported 1,250 MT of passion fruit per year to bridge domestic supply deficits. Over the same period, imports grew at a compounded rate of 32 per cent per year, despite a 26 per cent increase in domestic output. In 2016, according to USAid Kaves, out of a required 157 tonnes by UK supermarket ASDA, nine metric tonnes of yellow passion fruit were sold to the retail chain, representing only 35 per cent of the demand.
Passion is also used by processors for juice. Uganda is a big market for Kenya passion fruits, taking 50 per cent of the total production. South Sudan is also buying lots of passion from Kenya. Driven by the appetites of the growing health conscious middle income population, demand for fresh juice has increased by 6.9 per cent per year from 140,000 tonnes to 160,000 tonnes, and processors are operating at 50 per cent below the installed capacity due to inadequate supply.
With Kenya’s ability to guarantee a year-round supply, the country can become a world leader in tropical juice production, especially of pineapple, mango and passion, Dr Steve New, the USAid Kaves Chief of Party, told the meeting.
“Kenya is also already producing large quantities of pineapples and juice. Many mango processors are also coming up and if we get into passion fruit, we can become an African leader on tropical fruit juice production for global distribution,” he said.
“However, though there has been a big increase in production, we have hardly scratched the surface,” he added. Passion is the most preferred juice because its flavour blends well with other tropical fruits like pineapple, mango, and banana. It is a niche product with lucrative domestic, regional and international markets.
You can grow it over your fence and see what happens. Don’t start by buying poles or borrowing money, try it first. Do it step by step.
The fruits can grow anywhere in Kenya due to the availability of varieties for warmer and colder parts of the country. “We have yellow passion for the lower, warmer regions and the more common purple variety for the higher cooler parts,” said Dr New.
Sweet yellow passion fruit, which is bigger, tastier, higher yielding, and more tolerant to diseases and pests than the purple variety, is in high demand from processors as it yields more juice than the purple one.
The varieties KPF4, KPF11 and KPF12 are a combination of traits of the sour and purple passion, which took Kalro’s Thika Centre 10 years of research, cross breeding and upgrading with local species, to achieve. According to Kaves, 80,000 tonnes of yellow passion fruit is required to meet the current demand, which would require five million tree vines to be planted.
Already, farmers supply about 5,000 kilos of yellow passion a week to the fresh produce markets in Nairobi and Kisumu, though the weekly demand in the two towns averages 20,000 kilos. Prices of yellow passion fruits can be up to more than Ksh100 per kilo. The ASDA supermarket pays Ksh160 per kilo of yellow passion fruit delivered at Sunripe pack house in Nairobi or a farm gate price of Ksh90 for a kilo in western Kenya.
“However, the market in Kenya is still a little unsure about the yellow fruit, as buyers prefer the purple passion. But purple passion does not produce the high yields, though it can fetch higher prices. If you are in highland areas with low night temperatures, you are better off sticking with purple,” said Dr New.
According to Kalro, yields per hectare of yellow passion range from 30 to 40 tonnes compared to 15 tonnes for the purple variety. Yellow passion is also cheaper to grow than the purple variety. With Kenya’s ability to guarantee a year-round supply, the country has the potential to become a world leader in tropical juice production, especially of pineapple, mango and passion.
But even with a ready market, and Kenya’s potential to grow and export passion fruits, production has been declining and remains low partly because of limited access to quality planting material, pests like the diamond black moth, diseases and short orchard lifespan due to the woodiness virus, and poor agronomic practices. In the 1990s, Kenya produced a lot of passion fruit, but it began to decline in 2003 because of pest management issues, said Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya chairman Apollo Owuor.
“The European market has strict guidelines on pesticide residues and passion was reported to contain above allowable limits, leading to its rejection,” he added. The big challenge of meeting pesticide residue limits is because there is only one registered product, said Mr Owuor. Biological control product firms have also not conducted research on the passion being a minor crop.
Passion is listed among 100 horticultural crops. There is no policy specific to the crop. Since it is also seen as a minimal crop, little research has been done on it. Following the day-long deliberations at the Eldoret meeting, the Council of Governors Agriculture Committee, represented by Ms Anne Koech, County Executive, County Executive Committee Member in charge of agriculture, Kericho, made a commitment to support the upgrading of the crop so that funds can be allocated for development of passion in the counties.
The county governments would subsidise purchase of seedlings to improve production and create market linkages to streamline marketing, especially in the western region, considered a high potential passion fruit production zone.
The Agriculture Committee intends to bring agrochemical firms together with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Pest Control Products Board to discuss extension of labels to include passion fruits in the pest control products available in the country. More small-scale processors are needed. Farmers were urged to form groups to aggregate their produce and make it easier for the buyers.
The fresh export market wants the highest possible quality and is willing to pay a premium per kilo. Buyers want to see consistency and quality, and want to work with farmers who can be relied upon.
“The cost of aggregation is high for buyers, and maintaining a uniform standard is also difficult. It involves farmers pulling together and agreeing on standards and trying to get larger quantities to make the collection economic,” Dr New said.
Kenya also imports passion to bridge a deficit, an indication that the industry requires proper organisation from production to marketing.
Challenges
This crop is best grown on small portions of land, as it requires a lot of attention for maximum productivity, making it best suited for smallholders.
“It is quite difficult to manage passion fruit on large-scale, giving smallholders the upper hand. At spraying the plant will be at different stages of pest control, making it hard for large-scale management. On one vine you can have a flower, a young and mature fruit at the same time. The disease and pest control for each is different and none should affect the other, especially the ready to harvest fruit shouldn’t have traces of chemicals,” says Dr New.
“Farmers could try to grow even a 10th of an acre or 200 plants. It can provide you with a year-round income. You can grow it over your fence and see what happens. Don’t start by buying poles or borrowing money, try it first. Do it step by step. In Equador, Columbia, and Brazil many farmers grow coffee but also have passion fruit growing on the fences of their coffee plantations. This is done like a hobby, yet they export lots of it. I would recommend planting in phases to make this high cost a little bearable,” he says.
His initial costs were high. He bought 1,800 (3”x3”) poles, measuring 8.5 feet, at Ksh350 each, forking out Ksh630,000 (but these can be substituted with slender trees, reducing the cost, though they have to be strong enough to hold at least 10 to 20kg, the weight of a producing vine. Most farmers use blue or white gum poles). In addition, he bought six rolls of barbed wire at Ksh4,000 each for a total of Ksh24,000 (each roll serves 200 plants).
“I also sprayed the fruit to control insects, and diseases and promote rapid growth, using chemicals worth Ksh45,000 in the first year,” he recalls. Labour costs and some miscellaneous expenses took another Ksh100,000. His total costs in the first year amounted to about Ksh800,000, but the venture was worth it, as he made a profit of Ksh7 million. He got into export farming, thanks to the invitation of his friends who had discovered Kilimanjaro.
“In those days, life in Kilimanjaro was risky because there were too many wild animals, but we persevered and planted lots of vegetables such as hot chillies (three varieties), Okra, Brinjols (three varieties), Nduthi (a long gourd like pumpkin), Karela, and Patra.”
He had 20 workers,whom he paid well. “On harvest day, time was crucial as the truck always left at midday and we had to be ready by then.”
“I found rivers in the wilderness and piped water and I knew I had just found the path to success that I had been looking for. I immediately leased seven acres at Ksh300 each and asked my wife to join me and she took charge of three acres and we began working hard,” he recalls.
By the numbers…
Sweet yellow passion fruit, which is bigger, tastier, higher yielding, and more tolerant to diseases and pests than the purple variety, is in high demand from processors as it yields more juice than the purple one.
The varieties KPF4, KPF11 and KPF12 are a combination of traits of the sour and purple passion, which took Kalro’s Thika Centre 10 years of research, cross breeding and upgrading with local species, to achieve. According to Kaves, 80,000 tonnes of yellow passion fruit is required to meet the current demand, which would require five million tree vines to be planted.
Already, farmers supply about 5,000 kilos of yellow passion a week to the fresh produce markets in Nairobi and Kisumu, though the weekly demand in the two towns averages 20,000 kilos. Prices of yellow passion fruits can be up to more than Ksh100 per kilo. The ASDA supermarket pays Ksh160 per kilo of yellow passion fruit delivered at Sunripe pack house in Nairobi or a farm gate price of Ksh90 for a kilo in western Kenya.
Creating county tycoons
In Homa Bay County, there is a little revolution going on as a group of farmers boost their earnings from the soil. So productive are their pieces of land deep in the rural Ringa area, that in a year, they pocket much more than an average employed Kenyan. They have opted for the rewarding, but rather passion fruit farming and are growing a special variety known as the Yellow Passion. The growing popularity of the fruit has sparked great excitement in the region, and is transforming the simple farmers into silent millionaires. One of the most successful is 79-year-old Mr Lukio Okwiri. He spots a head of grey hair, and is dressed in a threadbare blue shirt, grey khaki trousers and black gumboots when I meet him. He could easily be mistaken for a farm labourer and not the farming tycoon he really is.
He is the founder of the Green Field Farmers’ Group with 15 members. Together, they have 10,000 vines of the lucrative passion fruit. They sell all their produce in bulk to an export company called Margos in Kisumu Town, and are paid handsomely for it.
“The yellow passion fruit was introduced to us by USAid-Kaves a little over five years ago, which provided us with the seeds free of charge and trained us on how to care for it,” says Mr Okwiri.
He has planted some 1,800 vines on two thirds of an acre and harvests at least 1kg of Grade 1 fruit per vine every week all-year round.
A kilo fetches Ksh90 and he, therefore, rakes in Ksh162,000 a week. The passion fruit is graded lower if it has any spots and is sold at a reduced price of Ksh50 per kilo. Though the start-up costs were quite heavy, Mr Okwiri is happy that the returns are quite good. Mr Okwiri had tried his hand at many other things before settling on farming.
In his past he has worked as a lorry turn-boy, driver, mason, fisherman and teacher. At some point he had seven motorboats and would make a lot of money from fishing, but rampant thefts forced him out and in 1973, he began arming. Born into a farming family, the switch was not difficult as he started going to the shamba from a tender age. In 1976, Mr Okwiri realised that his children were about to join secondary school and knew that he would need a bigger source of income to cater for fees and other needs.
He has raised all his 20 children solely with proceeds from his farming. The surviving 15 all have secondary education, with the majority having college or university qualifications. After his brother died in 1968, his widow approached him for help and he took in their six children, too.
“I have assisted many people, who are not even related to me and this is why God blesses the work of my hands,” says a proud Mr Okwiri.
In the 1980s, he had more than 10 children in primary and seven in secondary schools, and his first two were in college. He would pay a total Ksh300,000 fees in fees and more for the upkeep of the two college students but never borrowed a cent.
Six years ago, he planted 1,000 pawpaw trees in his homestead and still sells the fruits today. In between his passion fruit rows, he plants sukuma wiki (kale), harvesting nine to 10 90kg gunny bags a week.
“I aim to harvest 100 bags soon. The sukuma wiki helps keep the passion fruit free of weeds and provides a supplementary income, which I use to buy poles,” says Mr Okwiri. Also bitten by the farming bug is one of his sons, who despite having three bachelor’s degrees and a master’s, chose to leave employment for agriculture.
“I am building a stone house for my first wife and a second for my younger wife next year,” says the soft-spoken old man.
“People in my community like beautiful things. That’s why I made sure I got the best builders. I have also applied for electricity and paid for it. So it’s only a matter of time,” he says, breaking into a hearty laughter. Mr Okwiri says that many people in his community do not like hard work, and would rather get a good education and a well-paying white collar job or run a business. He didn’t get much of an education, reaching only Standard Seven.
“But I chose to work with my God-given intelligence and my hands in order to give my children the chance I never had.
Today, their education is a priority for me and I will pay whatever is required to educate them to the highest level they can attain,” he says. And in appreciation, his children often help out on the farm during holidays.
“One might ask why I keep struggling at my age when all my children are educated,” Mr Okwiri remarks. “I also take care of my daughter’s children and pay her college fees so that she can have a chance at a good life. That’s the least I can do for my children.”
On average expect to harvest one kilo of fruit from each vine but the level of care you give your vine directly affects this. When well- maintained, some of the vines can produce 2-3kg of fruit per week.
A few kilometres away, 50-year-old David Onyango, who quit his welding business five years ago, and with his savings bought four-and-a-half acres of land in his rural home, and planted 305 stems of the Yellow Passion. He keeps three grade cows and some chickens. Mr Onyango sank a well and he provides water to his community for free. He also bought a solar pump for Ksh65,000 and uses it to irrigate his shamba.
From the proceeds of his farm, he takes care of his nine children, having built a big brick house. He earns about Ksh25,000 a week from his passion fruit. I also sells at least 20 litres of milk daily at Ksh100 each. In total, he pockets at least Ksh150,000 a month.
His vines are heavy with fruit, the size of a human fist, deep yellow on the inside, sweet as honey and with lots of juice. It’s a variety of passion that is superior in both taste and size.
Says Mr Onyango: “I make much more than I ever did in my old welding business in Nairobi.” At yet another nearby farm, we find 65-year-old Zablon Ongocho. From the proceeds of his farm, Mr Ongocho is able to take care of his two wives, and 11 children and also provide for his son’s widow. “It is only five years ago that I planted this Yellow Passion,” he recalls.
“Though the costs are a bit high, the money eventually comes so fast I think I am getting it for free.” He has 320 stems on half-an-acre and this year, his wife has planted her own 180 stems and his daughter-in-law 20 stems. They have inter-cropped their passion vines with a highly sought after herb known as chia. His wife sells a kilo of chia for Ksh500.
“After harvesting I till the stems of the chia into the soil as it is manure and this greatly helps the passion. Thus, they complement each other and I earn a lot from both plants,” she explains. Mr Ongocho also has a well and he gives water to his community for free. A chlorine dispenser provided by USAid is mounted next to the well to ensure that the residents get clean drinking water.
For his part, Mr Okwiri is grateful to the government for sponsoring him to seminars and farm visits to learn more about farming. He is happy that USAid-Kaves has donated enable members to irrigate their farms, boosting their yields. The NGO also provides extension services to farmers. Ringa is an area tucked between the Ragogo fresh water springs and the Awachi River that flows all the way from Kisii County. These members of the Green Field group are only too willing to teach other farmers about this venture.
Did you know?
Brazil grows and eats more passion fruit than any other country on earth. The Passion fruit is native to Brazil. Its name comes from a family of passion flowers (passiflora). and is called “maracujá” in Portugal after a Native American word which means “nursery for flies.” There are several varieties of passion fruit but the two main commercial types on the market today are the purple passion fruit and yellow passion fruit.
The pulp of the passion fruit is rich in vitamins A and C, while its edible seeds are an excellent source of dietary fibre. Its pulp has also been found to be rich in antioxidants, which have been shown to help prevent certain cancers and support a healthy immune system.
The flower of the purple passion fruit has been used for centuries by many cultures as a medicinal supplement to treat insomnia, asthma, anxiety and menopause. The inner white rind of the passion fruit is currently being studied for its ability to reduce asthma symptoms and alleviate the pain caused by osteoarthritis.
Passion fruit are prized for the jelly like pulp they contain, which can be used raw or cooked in a number of dessert and beverage preparations.
– http://tonsoffacts.com/23-fun-and-interesting-facts-about-passionfruit/
Establishing a vineyard
Prepare a raised seedbed of not more than three feet wide. Ensure the rows run from east to west or vis versa because this shields the plants from direct sunlight and windy NPK fertiliser when planting.
The passion fruits should sprout within 14 to 21 days. At this stage thin them and if possible put each stem into individual planting bags, which reduces labour costs. After one week, apply CAN fertiliser to promote growth only if slow growth is observed.
The vines take 40 days to reach a height of 4-6 inches and this is when to transplant them to the open field. Plant the vines in holes two feet wide by 1 ½ feet deep. About a foot from the vine, prepare another hole to hold the supporting post, so that the vine will fasten itself to it as it grows.
The post should be 8.5 ft long: Some 2.5 ft should be in the ground, leaving 6.5 ft above. Regularly observe your vines for aphids or worms, wilting of leaves or any spots/ holes on the leaves. Spray if you note any of these threats.
Keep pruning your vines, removing the suckers and maintain only one or two stems to promote rapid vertical growth. However, stop when they reach the top of the post and start spreading to the wire as the new suckers are now needed to increase fruit production.
Run a barbed or smooth wire on the top of the posts, fastening it securely. These posts and wires will provide the much-needed support for the passion fruit vine, which grows to over 10 feet in length and weighs between 10-20kg at maturity. Be careful about the chemicals you use and only spray if you see a threat.
Unnecessary spraying may result in your fruit being rejected if the chemical levels exceed the internationally approved limits. Avoid insecticides and fungicides classified as poisonous. On average expect to harvest a kilo of fruit from each vine, but the level of care you give your vine directly affects this. When well- maintained, some of the vines can produce 2-3kg of fruit per week.
The vine will produce fruit for four to five years at which point many farmers will uproot the old ones. By then you should have prepared the new crop to ensure constant production. In addition, rotate the crop and plant the second in a different area to control pests and diseases.
Harvest the fruit on the day of transportation to ensure it gets to the market when extremely fresh. The ready fruit appears light green with a slightly yellow tinge. Only harvest what is ready to avoid the fruit developing a sour taste.
At the time of transplanting put 1 ‘gorogoro’ (2kg) of manure a foot from the plant. It should be dug it into the soil on the upper side of the plant so that when it rains, the nutrients flow towards it and not away from it. Always note the slope of your land and learn how your water flows when it rains to ensure nutrients are never lost. In the field, the distance from one row to another should be two metres, while the distance from one plant to the nextshould be three metres. The rows should be prepared from east to west. Planting north to south makes the vines act as wind breakers and you are likely to find them down due to strong winds. When planted east to west, the wind passes in between the rows without interfering with the vines. In about four months, the vines should start flowering.
At this stage, it is crucial that you spray an insecticide to prevent any insects laying their eggs on the flowers, which is where the fruit will emerge from. It is also at this point that you add another two ‘gorogoros’ (4kg) of manure to each plant to provide extra nutrients needed at the crucial stage of fruit formation. Observe the slope and incorporate the manure at the top, a foot from the vine.
There is a common myth that small-scale farmers are unproductive compared to “commercial” producers. Therefore, the argument goes, Kenya is at a disadvantage because it depends on farmers with less than three acres for much of its agricultural production. In reality, there is no direct relationship between efficiency and farm size for most crops.
It is rather obvious that a well-informed, fully financed small-scale farmer, with access to technology, can devote more time to tending her crops and should be able to achieve higher yields per acre than a large plantation owner who depends on unskilled labour to do most of the work. This is confirmed by a wealth of data collected by development projects and commercial firms over the past decade. For example, when export companies tried to grow their own French beans following the introduction of new trade standards in 2004, they soon realised that they were less competitive than the out-growers they previously bought from. As a result, more than 60 per cent of the beans and other vegetables grown for export.
When it comes to French beans, smallholders have clear advantage over their large-scale neighbours. There are two clear reasons for this. Firstly, picking green beans is highly labour-intensive, requires learned skills and has to be done every day.
This is much easier and less costly to achieve with a small labour force. For an export company, using out-growers reduces the risk. If production is scattered on small plots, only a portion of the crop is affected. But if a large area on an exporter’s own farm is hit by a hailstorm, there is no marketable crop left to export for several weeks. With a three-month growing cycle, an average farm gate price of over Ksh50 per kilo, and year-round market demand, French beans are a high value crop for which smallholders have competitive and comparative advantages. Kenya is unique in that our smallholders are leading suppliers of high quality fresh produce to leading supermarkets in Europe. Passion fruit, which is featured in this issue, is another crop with massive potential for the small-scale producers. Kenya has purple and yellow types that can be grown successfully in many parts of the country if the right variety is selected.
It is currently the highest value crop exported, in terms of price and returns per acre, and it is grown entirely by small-scale growers. They have an advantage because pruning, pest management and pollination need to be carried out on a regular basis and this is difficult on a plantation.
To realize its potential and bring new income to the rural areas, smallholders need funds to dig wells, install solar water pumps, and buy poles and wire. The market is ready for Kenyan fruits, the farmers have the land and knowledge, and I hope bankers are reading this!
Pests and diseases
Nearly all passion fruit growing areas in Kenya are infested with the woodiness viral disease, USAid-Kaves says. This and other pests and diseases limit the economic lifespan of most passion fruit orchards to a maximum of 24 months. Experience has shown that planting healthy seedlings and maintaining an orchard at least during the first six months after transplanting guarantees better returns even if woodiness appears later. Use clean planting materials and copper-based fungicide sprays during the cold/rainy season. Field hygiene is recommended. Use of bio-pesticides is encouraged for the requisite Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) incidence. Integrated pest management techniques such as orchard sanitation and physical control using insecticide-treated nets and sleeves, are also encouraged. When transplanting, drench the hole with Trichoderma at a recommended rate of 1 ml/lt of .
There are a number of pests such as insects, and nematodes and diseases that affect passion fruit. Thrips, phytophthora blight, and brown spots are the major pests and diseases of the fruit. Broad mite or yellow tea mite –one the most important mite pests of passion fruit in Kenya;
Mealy bugs
Fruit Flies, aphids, leaf miner, Fruit Suckers – mainly stinkbugs apply metarrhizium strain 69 to control thrips and sting bugs. Thrips management is critical to stop the pests from feeding on the plants, sucking sap from the growing tips or from developing fruits. Bug attack (by both nymphs and adults) is sporadic and coincides with warm weather. Nematodes can cause severe problems in passion fruit, but only in the purple varieties, as the yellow ones are completely resistant. There are few pesticides for control of pests and diseases in passion fruit since it is considered a minor crop.
This has resulted in the use of unregistered pesticides, posing the risk of non-compliance and market loss. However, there is a need to expand the area under passion cultivation to meet the increasing demand. The increasing pest pressure provides a prospective business venture for agrochemical companies to invest in.