By MaryAnne Musilo

Laikipia farmer Thiong’o Wa Gachie has abandoned hybrid castor seeds and returned to planting local varieties after widespread failures in neighbouring farms. The hybrid seeds, distributed under commercial schemes across Makueni, Baringo and Laikipia counties, have struggled under drought, heavy rainfall, and disease, leaving many farmers with poor yields and low returns.

“I have seen many farmers lose their plants due to root rot,” Thiong’o said. “They get seeds from companies that later buy from them. They are the dwarf variety since they are short compared to the local variety.” He said these failures prompted him to plant 200 local castor plants, which he describes as drought-tolerant, reliable across seasons, and productive without irrigation.

Hybrid castor failures have been suffered across Kenya, with investigations by Transport & Environment (T&E) and media outlets including CleanTechnica finding they had delivered low returns, with frequent losses on climate change, and challenging water needs. 

Farmers reported crop losses, minimal seed yields, slow growth, and high susceptibility to root rot during heavy rains. Contracts reviewed in the investigations also found processors paying only Sh20 to Sh35 per kilogram, leaving many farmers with net losses after accounting for labour and transport. The farmers also faced extra water costs.

Says Thiong’o, a regenerative living consultant and trainer, the local variety performs much more reliably. 

“This variety takes 4 to 5 months to mature and the production increases with time from 8 months,” he said. “They flower and fruit all through. They do not require irrigation.” He added that the plants are taller than the hybrid types and have a distinctive reddish stem, which aids in identification and management.

The local seeds also provide higher income. “The local variety obtained from the Ricinus communis plant, seeds are small and I sell up to Sh400 per kilo to farmers who want to farm this variety, making around Sh80,000 per year,” he said. 

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“The local castor oil variety is best for cosmetic and human use and I’m rooting to take the oil processing direction as a value addition.”

The plant also has other benefits. “This plant is a natural repellent for garden pests like moles, which is an advantage to my other crops and herbs,” said Thiong’o. 

The plants’ continuous flowering and fruiting allow for year-round harvesting, although seed capsules must be collected on time to prevent them from bursting. “After harvest I dry the seeds in the sun and then later sell them to the buyers,” he added.

Castor oil continues to be in demand for lubricants, paints, inks, nylon, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. But as farmers search for more reliable varieties, Thiong’o argues that local varieties are better suited to the realities of smallholder agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions than the hybrid varieties currently being promoted under industrial schemes.