What does it take to be a successful farmer? This a rather complex question that can be summarized in one word, resilience. This can be evidenced by numerous farming success stories.
Margaret Mutheu is a farmer from Kaewa, Machakos County. Margaret learnt the hard way what it takes to be resilient in the trade. Aside from farming, she is also the founder of 1 Million Startups East Africa Chapter.
Mrs Mutheu completed her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Maseno University in 2008. She pursued her career with some of the most esteemed firms in the country.
Her first employment gig was at national broadcaster, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). Five years later, she left the firm for an even more pristine opportunity.
She assumed the role of Head of IT Services for Britam Insurance Group, overseeing operations in all its Kenyan branches.
As we know, the human spirit is always driven to seek its niche and fulfilment. Margaret recognized that her calling lay outside employment.
In 2016, she effectively resigned from her job to pursue a new path in farming, focusing on watermelon farming. Convinced that this was her calling, she wholeheartedly invested a substantial amount into the venture.
Together with her husband, Margaret invested in Sh. 450,000 ($4360 at the time). The 39-year-old turned to a 2-acre piece of land that belonged to her father.
Out of this, Sh. 300,000 was used to cultivate the previously idle land that had been idle for a long time. The remaining Sh. 150,000 was spent on purchasing seeds, irrigation and buying essential farm utilities. She planted her watermelon seeds across the entire land parcel.
“I had to spend a lot during this first time because, besides lacking experience in the new venture, the land had not been cultivated for many years hence there was a lot to be done to make it ready for the crop,” she said.
As fate would have it, Mrs Mutheu would have to face failure first before she could rise. Due to drought and porcupine invasion on her farm, she was left counting losses. It was a tough blow that she had to take in.
Expecting to reap large margins, the farmer only managed to get a mere Sh. 4,000 in from 50 kgs of melon sales.
“The failure in my watermelon business broke my heart as it was my firt attempt in agribusiness and I was surprised how much money I lost on a farming venture expecting sweet returns.”
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“However, this did not discourage me because my passion has always been business entrepreneurship,” she added.
Following the setback, she conducted extensive research to identify crops that would thrive with minimal water management. With the help of two friends, she settled on passion fruits and pawpaw.
Cautious to avoid lightning striking twice, Mutheu hired an agronomist, Daniel Mwenda, to test the soil.
In 2017, she invested Sh. 150,000 ($1,450). She bought 1000 certified seedlings of solo sunrise pawpaw and sweet yellow passion seedlings for Sh. 80,000. She drew water for irrigation from Masinga Dam.
Nine months later, both crops were mature. Mutheu and her colleagues harvested 50 kilos of pawpaw and 150 kilos of passion fruits every two weeks. From sales, they would earn at least Sh. 100,000 in gross income each month.
They managed to secure a market for their fruits at a value addition company in Nairobi. They also marketed their fruits on social media platforms.
The demand for fruits at the value addition company escalated rapidly and exceeded their production capacity. To keep on track, she began sourcing pawpaw from neighbouring farms that faced marketing challenges.
The group hopes to open a plant that will enable farmers to process fruits and minimize wastage.
