Listen Fed up with meagre earnings from his farm, Finelius Irungu woke up one day, uprooted his tea bushes and replaced them with climbing beans. For years Mr Finelius Irungu, a tea farmer in Murang’a County, would endure a thankless and familiar routine. He would wake up early, harvest his tea leaves and then wait […]
Listen Athanas Tuiyot swapped pen for hoe and has since become a renowned farmer at Chepkanga area in Uasin Gishu County. He shares tips on cabbages. Seedbed Identify a good piece of land. Soils with high organic matter yield more. They should also be well-drained with a high water retention capacity. Soil pH should be […]
Listen A steady flow of farmers visit Charles Mureithi’s home to get valuable lessons on how his foray into fruit growing became a notable success story in a county more famous for beef ranches. Dimcom Eden Villa Farm is located in the Sipili area of Ng’arua, Laikipia County. The 7.5-acre farm is one of the […]
Listen Adding value to mangoes by drying them created a new line of revenue for Mercy Mwende and her husband Mageria. It seems like the middle of nowhere for first-time visitors. But Kamutiria village, deep inside Tharaka Nithi County, hosts a gem that is changing the lives and fortunes of mango farmers. Sweet and Dried […]
Listen 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 […]
Listen An agricultural revolution is taking place in Kenya’s towns with mini-farms sprouting in the most unlikely of spaces. From buckets to plastic containers, sacks, and pots, the little farms are sprouting everywhere. In some instances, no soil is needed. The urban farming movement is especially spreading fast in Nairobi and central Kenya. Hydroponic technology […]
Listen Fred Okemwa Omoke found a sure-fire way to make money from beetroot despite its taste which many find unpleasant. British writer, editor, critic, poet and suffragist once wrote: “The true colour of life is the colour of the body, the colour of the covered red, the implicit and not explicit red of the living […]
Listen Humphrey Njoroge, a retired military officer, fell in love with trees while growing up in Nyandarua County on the edge of the Aberdare Forest in the 1950s. His fascination with the plants would blossom during his time at Kapsabet Boys and Kagumo high schools where different types of trees, labelled by botanical names, rose […]
Listen Exports of fresh horticultural products were worth an estimated Ksh153.7 billion in 2018, an increase of 33.3 percent compared to 2017. Horticulture has, sometimes, been mistaken for market gardening. While both involve some form of farm work, the crucial difference is in scale. Market gardening refers to small-scale production, on under one acre, of […]
Listen Farmers have been advised to buy seeds from licensed stockists or agrovet stores to avoid losses. Speaking during a farmers’ exhibition at Sigot in Nandi County, agricultural experts told farmers to avoid buying seeds that have been divided into smaller rations. “What you produce depends on what you plant. I am also urging you […]