Kamau Nduati, a 56-year-old man and a father of five owns a one and a half acre of land in Subukia.

Like many farmers who practice horticulture in Subukia, Nduati has planted cabbage, French beans, lettuce, avocado and courgette.

56-year-old Kamau Nduati is a vegetable farmer in Subukia.

Photo credit: BRET SANYA/MTAA WANGU

Having been in the business since 2012, he says “I opted to do horticulture since it has a lot of money in it. The crops take a maximum of three months to be ready for harvest.”

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Vividly sharing about French beans, which according to him gives more money compared to other horticulture crops, he says that from all the varieties of French beans, he chose to settle for the Organdi , which he plants five times a year.

“I sell French beans at Sh 53 per kilogram, courgette Sh 40 per kilogram while cabbage is between Sh 15 to Sh 20 per head giving me Sh 30,000, Sh 25,000 and Sh 20,000 per harvest respectively."
Mr Nduati notes that the French beans need a lot of attention as they are only planted once the rain is reliable.

Unfortunately, he says French beans are prone to bacteria wilt, but also has a tendency of releasing a lot of nitrogen to the soil.

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To curb this, Nduati and other farmers rotate the French beans with other plants such as Lettuce, that will neutralize the bacteria or another crop in dire need of Nitrogen.

“I sell mainly to consumers in Nakuru town. There is no market for this produce here in Subukia,” he laments.

On the other hand, Philip Muraya, a 70 year old, who owns two acres of land majorly focuses on planting capsicum, carrots, sukuma wiki, and avocados.

Philip Muraya is a 70 year old farmer in Subukia who plants vegetables.

Photo credit: BRET SANYA/MTAA WANGU

Mr Muraya says “I learnt about horticulture in 1964 in a college in Nyahururu that stimulated my interest in starting my own business in 1974. I first started with sukuma wiki in my small farm and then added the other crops with time.”

According to Muraya, a kilogram of capsicum goes for Sh 200 per kilogram bringing in at least Sh 40,000 a month while Sukuma wiki retails at Sh 50 a kilogram giving him Sh 3,000.

Philip Muraya makes up to SH 40,000 a month from selling capsicum in Wakulima and Top market.

Photo credit: BRET SANYA/MTAA WANGU

According to him he does horticulture since not most people pursue it.

"I plant the crops all year round whether it is the hot or rainy season. Having water to irrigate the land gives me an upper hand especially in the dry seasons, which means more profit from the business," he reveals.

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Mr Muraya has an underground tank that holds 76,000 litres of water .

Speaking on the challenges he says “a while back, pests affected the tomatoes I had grown therefore destroying the produce completely. I decided to switch to the yellow and green capsicum.”

Most of his produce finds its way to Wakulima and Top markets in Nakuru city.
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Farmers in Subukia give tips on the lucrative horticulture business

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Winnie Kimani