Farmers growing high-value crops earn five times as much from the same land as millions more Kenyans who farm the traditional staples of maize, potatoes, and sugarcane.
According to the Agriculture and Food Authority of Kenya, over 10 million households in Kenya grew maize on 2.2 million hectares in 2022 earning a record high Sh72,000 per hectare. In the same period, okra was farmed on a 99.93 per cent smaller piece of land and earned an average of Sh381,240 an acre.
Before he started growing high-value okra, capsicum, and eggplant vegetables on his seven-acre farm at Madunguni, Malindi, Kevin Onsongo grew cassava and maize which barely made any profit. “I expect to harvest up to 11.5 tonnes of okra an acre once the harvest season is through. The beauty of the crop is that you harvest it every other day, ensuring you have a steady source of income to fund other long-term crops,” Onsongo said. He sells his okra to traders at Malindi and Kongowea markets and vegetable stall owners.
Every so often, the young farmer also sells to okra exporters in Nairobi.
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Irish potatoes are Kenya’s second most grown crop after maize farmed by over 800,000 farmers. In 2022 farmers earned Sh35.8, a 70.5 per cent increase from the previous year as consumer demand and the cost of fertiliser and pesticides increased. With an average production of 8.4 tonnes a hectare, this translated to a gross profit of Sh300,720 a hectare.
On the other hand, farmers who grew the little-explored white onion in 2022 earned Sh60-70 a kilogram. With an average 37.07 ton yield a hectare, selling a kilo for Sh65, this translates to a gross of Sh2,185,906 per hectare.
John Kilosh, a Nanyuki farmer who switched from growing the common red onion to white onions earning him twice as much counsels farmers to thoroughly research the market and establish connections with buyers before starting to farm white onions. “It is important to note that hotels buy most white onions in the country. They are also especially preferred by Indian consumers,” he said.
Joshua Mamwaka, a wholesale onion trader at Muthurwa’s Wakulima Market, suggests that small-scale farmers, particularly those cultivating less than an acre, should consider growing white onions instead of red ones. He points out that while their growing costs are largely the same, farm gate price of red onions can dip to as low as Sh20 per kilogram. At that price, it becomes nearly impossible for small-scale farmers to earn a profit from red onions.” He also emphasizes that the demand for white onions is higher than many believe. “We have seen a significant demand for white onions, and since few farmers grow them, their prices are consistently about twice that of red onions,” Joshua explained
According to AFA’s Sugar Directorate, the crop supports 292,586 out-grower farmers in 14 counties most of whom farm on an average of 1.7 acres. On average farmers yielded 62.90 tons of sugarcane on a hectare. This translated to Sh284,081 per hectare in gross profit after 14 to 18 months praying the miller didn’t close shop.
By comparison, a hectare of spider plant earned its growers Sh353,596 a hectare in 2022. The indigenous African vegetable has grown in popularity among consumers in towns such as Nairobi, Eldoret where it is more commonly known as saget, and Kisumu where it is referred to as Alot Dek who are on the lookout for organically farmed and nutritious foods.
The Nyamira North Women Sacco which is made up of 535 members each growing the crop on at least an eighth of an acre rakes in Sh77,500 weekly from the traditional crop.
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The crop is described by the Sacco’s Director Enid Charana as ideal for beginner farmers as it is easy to cultivate, takes just 45 days to mature, and has very low input costs as it is a hardy crop that can be grown with no pesticides or fertiliser.
“We harvest 0.5 tons of spider plant leaves weekly which are sold to a company that dries and repackages them for supermarket shelves in Eldoret and 1,000 kilograms of young shoots which are sold to institutions and supermarket suppliers in Kisumu and Siaya,” she said.