“If you are looking for a good market for sugar snaps and snowpeas, now is the time to start planting. They’ll take 60 days to mature and you will begin harvesting in April. This will ensure you are ahead of the curve and your produce is ready at a time of scarcity as most farmers will be gearing up to plant at the onset of the rains,” — Mwangi the farmer.
The price of sugar snap has jumped over 100 per cent compared to last year with a kilogram selling for a minimum of Sh200 and up to Sh400 compared to Sh100 last year. For snow peas, the minimum buying price is Sh130 with prices jumping up to Sh250 compared to Sh60 last year.
“Climate change and unreliable weather patterns are making it increasingly difficult to grow these delicate crops not only in Kenya but in Africa’s other major exporting nations Egypt and South Africa. They also require refined technical expertise to get right,” explained the agronomist who has been growing these high-value crops for 5 years.
Speaking to global fruit and vegetable news outlet FreshPlaza, Pepijn de Koning, account manager at European vegetable specialist FV Seleqt who recently shifted to import year-round by boat from Kenya: “These vegetables (snow peas, sugar snaps, haricots verts, peas, dwarf and French beans) are considered trendy and, since they’re a good source of protein, are also used as meat substitutes. Because of that, we expect a lot of these products in the coming years. Especially now that we can import them to Europe more sustainably almost year-round by boat.”
Mwangi the farmer: 0724203318