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: 07 February 2017; Hits: 17915

Spinach farmer earns more by avoiding middlemen

Spinach Nathan Mala Nyambari Kimabu County By Laban Robert edited2

Nathan Mala tends to his spinaches at his farm at Nyambari, Kimbu County in 2016. He makes more money by sellign the spinach in bundles to groceries. Photo by Laban Robert.

In avoiding market middlemen, who eat into the profits, one Kiambu County spinach farmer is making more money from searching and delivering the vegetable on his own to the Nairobi City market.
Nathan Mala makes about Sh500 more from a sack of 50kg after delivering the spinach to specific Nairobi city groceries.
Middlemen go round farms in his locality of Nyambari, which is along the Nairobi Nakuru Highway collecting vegetables for sale to Nairobi, Mombasa and other major towns.
A sack of spinach weighing 50kg is bought at between Sh1,300 and Sh1,500, depending on the supply that day.
But for Mala, the spinach is bound into bundles, earning at least Sh2,000.
“Breaking it down into bundles enables me to sell it to various customers according to their desires. From one sack, I get 200 bundles, which fetch Sh100 each. Even after spending about Sh100 on each sack in transportation, I have a bigger margin of profits than those who sell to brokers,” he said.
From the more than 500 spinach plants, the farmers harvests at least three sacks after 10 days despite the dry spell that has spanning for more than three months.

Vegetable prices double in Nairobi

veges Andrew Kusewa Nairobi ASK By laban Robert.JPG

Andrew Kusewa at a vegetable display plot during the 2016 Nairobi ASK Show. Vegetable farmers are earning double following the short supply. PHOTO BY LABAN ROBERT.

Farmers who rely on irrigation have doubled vegetable revenue with the prolonged drought causing a rise in the cost of vegetable in major towns like Nairobi.

Most farmers have been driven into a production recess as the rains, which they depend go missing for more than three months.

Damacline Kemunto, a Nairobi resident, has over the last one month doubled her vegetable budget for cabbage and kales-commonly called sukuma wiki.

A cabbage head of about one and half kilogrammes, which she previously bought from Uthiru at between Sh30 and Sh40 in October 2016, costs her between Sh80 and Sh100.

“The cost of vegetables is rising to beat flour! Things are getting worse because if the drought persists, meat is going to be cheaper than vegetables,” Kemunto said.

The same is happening to sukuma wiki, which is consumed by millions of rural and urban residents.

Four bunches of sukuma wiki costing Sh20 were sufficient for her family of five. But now she needs at least Sh50 for a single meal.

Sukuma wiki of about Sh5 is sufficient for an individual, but now, one may require Sh10 or more.

The traditional vegetables, commonly called mboga kienyeji, are no better.

Albert Otieno Ogeda says a mixture of spider flower, black night shade and amaranth costing Sh300 took him through the week with his family of five. It is no longer the case.

“The same bunch, which I used to buy at Sh20 is going for Sh35 at Kawangware. By the end of January, the budget for vegetables was double what I always spend,” he said.

A survey released this week by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that a cabbage that cost about Sh45 in January 2016 is fetching between Sh70 and Sh90 the same month of 2017.

The study says three leaves of sukuma wiki cost Sh10 in January. One kilo of kales costs about Sh47, yet by last year, the same time it fetched Sh34.

Fortunately, the tomatoes have not shot high like the greens, therefore, Kemunto like many other urbanites use them in plenty in cooking dagaa- commonly called omena- and eggs.

The KNBS report says January 2017 inflation rose to 6.99 per cent from 6.35 in December.

This is the highest inflation record for 11 months, remaining marginally below the Central Bank of Kenya’s preferred limit of 7.5 per cent.

The dry spell has persisted from October 2016, when few regions in the country received short rains.

One of the contributing factors to the rise is the cost of vegetables is the limited supply due to the production from irrigation fields alone.

Kawangware and Uthiru are residential areas outside Nairobi City.

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: 08 August 2016; Hits: 10771

Yellow capsicum short supply shoots prices up

Capsicum is one of the most favaorite ingredients in urban cooking, but many farmers prefer green and red types to yellow variety because of the ready market in the most middle class households.

This has gradually created short supply in demand of the yellow variety, more-so, in the up market consumers, who are parting with more cash in the supply depressed situation.

Wycliffe Obwoge, an agronomist with a Nairobi-based international agribusiness company, says the few growers of the yellow variety are making more than four times what the rest common variety farmers.

With one green or red capsicum fetching between Sh5 and Sh10, yellow type sells at between Sh20 and Sh50 per peace, depending on the supply.

“More big hotels and supermarkets are looking for yellow capsicum for their specialized clientele. The farmers I visit tell me they are unable to meet orders. As more farmers grow the red and green varieties, which are common, a gap is created allowing for increased price for the few growers,” Mr Obwoge says.

yellowcapsicum-sakuraseed.com

With most of the greenhouse farmers he visits being within or bordering Nairobi County, the agronomist says, access to good markets is not much of a challenge.

Harvesting starts from 60 days to 90 days. One plant can yield up to 35 standard fruits when the farm is under good management.

From one harvest, a farmer can realise up to 200 kilos once from a 15m by 8m greenhouse. When the price is at its lowest, one can earn Sh24,000 with one kilo selling at Sh120.

Yellow capsicum is rich in vitamin A, C and E.

The Amiran Kenya agronomist says the company is gradually witnessing increased demand for yellow capsicum seeds as more farmers eye this vegetable ingredient.

Photo: Sakuraseeds.com

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