NAIROBI: Farmer Bernard Watitu’s farm in Juja on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya is teeming with tomatoes and capsicum, having planted to coincide the harvest with the current dry season.
Watitu is harvesting the capsicum up to four times a week and tomatoes twice on different parts of the four-acre farm. He has increased the frequency of the harvest because demand is high, and the prices are also very good.
“I have traders to whom I supply the produce in Buru. I harvest, load them in my station wagon vehicle and deliver. Sometimes I sell myself directly to consumers in the boot of my car,” said a happy Watitu on Saturday.
Watitu, who has been farming for about five years, has studied the Kenyan seasons and market trends and knows when to plant for him to maximize on profit as it is happening now.
Commodity prices are currently high, enabling him and other farmers in the East African nation to make good profit from their produce.
A kilo of tomatoes is being sold at between 0.71 U.S. dollars and 1.02 dollars in wholesale markets in the capital Nairobi.
A kilo of capsicum, on the other hand, is being sold at 0.31 dollars, an increase of more than 0.05 dollars.
“I wish that I had planted the crops on over five acres for me to enjoy the rewards of farming. This is a period in the year that I wait for anxiously. I ensure that I prepare my land on time so that I can cash in on the increased prices,” said Watitu.
The farmer is making on each box of tomatoes that he grows in the open field a profit of up to 20 dollars.
Demand for traditional vegetables has also surged, and so is that for green maize, fruits, onions, sukuma wiki (kale), cabbages and potatoes, among other commodities.
“We have grown traditional vegetables on five acres after expanding from two last year but still we have been unable to satisfy increased demand. The market is insatiable,” said Vincent Mulando, who farms with two of his friends in Machakos.
The trio sell their produce to a leading supermarket in Nairobi, where they have a contract.
“The supermarket increased the portion of our supplies but we have been unable to meet it. Initially, we used to supply them at least twice a week, now they said three times but we are struggling to meet the demand,” said Mulando, who is sourcing the crop from other farmers to satisfy the demand.
Farmers who grow their crops aligning the harvest with the dry season maximize their returns, noting agricultural experts.
“It is a practice that comes with experience and requires better planning. You have to know the time the crops take to mature and when there is a shortage in the market then plan. If you miss the timing, you can incur losses because you can harvest when there is glut in the market,” warned Bernard Moina, an agricultural extension officer. He noted that smart horticultural farmers only farm to harvest when demand is high.
