Smart farms

: 16 September 2019; Hits: 8251

Kilifi farmer dries mango fruits to beat low markets price in peak season

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In a bid to counter poor pricing during peak season and loses in rotting of mangoes, one Kilifi County farmer has resorted to drying and packaging the fruit into crisps hence extending the shelf-life of the fruits from about two weeks to more than three months.

According to Juma Mwaringa, a fresh mango fruit can earn a maximum of Sh30 in retail in towns like Nairobi and Mombasa but by drying he earns up to Sh150 a packet of 250g.

“When the mangoes are in plenty, the cost drops from about Sh30 to Sh10 for each mature fruit. But by drying, I am not worried about the fruits going bad. I no longer struggle to sell fresh mangoes along the Mombasa-Malindi Road as before because the dry ones fetch more,” he said.

Mwaringa uses hybrid wind and solar power machines to dry chopped crisps. The drier, which has turbines and solar panels can operate during the day while at night the energy is provided by wind. Solar panels mainly tap the energy at day time.

On average, one fresh mango can shrink to about 170g when dry. It takes about two days to dry 10 kilos of the mangoes.

Global United Nations agency, Food and Agriculture Organsiation (FAO), says 40 per cent of the total production annually goes to waste or lose. Kenya produces about 50,000 tons annually, of which about 45 per cent is lost in waste or rotting, according to the horticultural department.

This majorly happens when the local and international markets are saturated.

RELATED CONTENT: Drying mangoes saves farmers post-harvest loses

Mwaringa chops the flesh into discs of about five centimeters wide them in the solar-panel powered gadget to quicken the water loss process.

Packaging materials cost five shillings. Sealing of the polythene bags is done by folding and passing the edge near a flame of fire.

“I rely on roadside vending. Sometimes I visit Watamu Beach wherever I know there are many people there,” Mwaringa said.

Other farm produce can also be dried using the chamber.

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: 12 September 2019; Hits: 7945

Banana wine, crisps making promises bright future to college dropout

Nyangorora Banana Processing Askah Omiso

In 2004 Askah Omiso Nyakwara dropped out of college due to lack of school fees. She would later delve into banana value addition to make crisps and wine among other products something that has seen her start her own company besides working with over 500 farmers.

However, the journey has not been easy for the young entrepreneur as she had to start from scratch given she comes from a poor background.

“After school I came back home and started deep frying and salting bananas. I sold the product to people in my village, including primary school pupils making Sh1,200 from the first bunch of bananas I bought at Sh500,” said Askah.

She then realised that the majority of the people who tasted the product were so impressed and that is where her journey as banana crisps and wine manufacturer began even though all she had was a certificate in business management from Superior College in Kisumu.

As she continued with her deep-frying and salting bananas business, Askah would devote some of her time to do a research on banana value addition and marketing in Kenya and beyond something she says took her four years.

“Making other products out of bananas for commercial purposes require an extensive background knowledge on banana production, value addition processes and marketing in order for it to be a success,” said the 37-year-old entrepreneur.

In May 2013, she started her company, Nyangorora Banana Processing Ltd and approached the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (Kirdi) Nyamira branch to use the institute’s facilities to start processing banana crisps.

The company would then make between 2,000 to 3,000 kilos of crisps per month.

RELATED ARTICLE: Group earns six times from banana value addition

Unfortunately, after the company established itself, some individuals who worked as a company approached Askah for a tender to distribute Nyangorora products to other retail outlets and shops which they were awarded on the basis that they were to make payments after the products were bought.

After sometime the distributors vanished with all the money plus the products and tracing them became so difficult that the company had to adjust itself to remain in the business.

“Though it was a big blow because we lost cash and customer connections, it did not discourage us from employing other means of remaining relevant in the industry by incorporating new products such as drying and crushing bananas to produce flour for porridge, bread and scorns baking and cooking mandazis and chapatis,” said Askah.

As a boost to her business, in April 2016 she won Sh1 million during Kisii Entrepreneurship Summit for her banana value addition effort. This has enabled her to expand her venture.

Today, the company is also processing 100-500 litres of banana wine, a tonne of flour per day and maintaining the 2,000-3,000 kilos of crisps per month which is sold within Kisii and Nyamira counties.

In addition, the company has opened 36 banana collection centres for farmers, 24 in Nyamira and 12 in Kisii to buy different banana varieties such as Uganda green for flour making, Ng’ombe grade one for crisps and Williams and dwarf Cavendish for wine and juice making.

The venture has brought ready market for the growers. Farmers in the region have for long protested poor banana prices. A bunch sells for as little as Sh100.

“Brokers buy a bunch of the produce from farmers for Sh100. This is very discouraging to the hardworking farmers. But with our approach, we offer farmers more,” said Askah.

Her challenge at the moment is lack of their own facilities as the KIRDI equipment are used by other people making them fully available.

“We welcome investors who would like to work with us to move the business to the next level and to set our own plant for steady production.”

Askah can be reached on +254712113021

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: 11 September 2019; Hits: 9045

Pruning cuts pests, increases capsicum yields

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Farmers practicing pruning and thinning increase chances of getting up ten kilos of capsicum (also known as sweet pepper or Hoho) yields per tree as compared to five kilos if the crop is not well managed.

“During pruning, one retains the main stem with one other budding branch shooting from the stem. This gives the entire tree a vigorous growth due to reduced competition for the nutrients,” said David Gitonga, Oxfarm agronomist.

Unlike the popular view that more stems would yield more fruits, the agronomist said the quality is compromised, which will also affect the price of the produce.

According to Gitonga, pruning should be done every week to let the plant use less water and nutrients to make big fruits and of the same size.

At the same time, the excess fruits must also be removed soon after the bulbs are about pigeon-pea sized.

Removing the excess to remain with about eight to 10 healthy fruits reduces over-crowding, besides concentrating the nutrients to the few healthy produce.

Any leaves near the fruits must be defoliated. In addition to reducing the canopy to allow for fresh air circulation, the removal of the excess leaves destroys the hiding and breeding places of the pests.

Leaves also encourage emergency of buds that would grow to shoots.

RELATED ARTICLE: Simlaw Seeds new capsicum variety doubles yields

Defoliation starts after three weeks from transplanting until the end of the growing season. It has to be done weekly before the shoots before the leaves mature, leading to more wounds on the plant.

With staking, irrigation, fertigation, pest control and other practices can yield fruits of between 150g to 200g.

Supporting the fruits above the ground reduces incidences of pests and disease attack.

Harvesting starts from the fourth to six month depending on the variety.

RELATED ARTICLE: Yellow capsicum short supply shoots prices up

Storing in the shade after harvesting reduces ripening, allowing for more market access interventions.

From one acre on an open field, a produce of between 12 tonnes and 16 tonnes is possible given a single plant can yield an average of 10 kilos in its lifetime, Gitonga said.

Currently, red and orange capsicum sells at between Sh80 and Sh200 per kilo depending on the market rates.

In Nairobi, Indians at City Park and City market are the most targeted consumers by farmers and traders as they offer ready market for the produce.

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