The lethal maize disease destroyed over 5,000 acres of land with crop in Subukia sub-county, plunging farmers into huge losses. After seeing the devastation, Margret Wambui, one of the affected farmers, decided to try her hand at something else on her two-acre farm.
“I pondered what next for my family of 15 after a whole acre of maize was decimated by the lethal disease. My Sh. 50,000 went down the drain. I anticipated harvesting approximately 15 bags of 90 kilogrammes of maize. But it was never to be,” says Wambui.
Wambui says she decided to try sweet potatoes, which were easily available. She used Sh. 2,000 as start-up capital.
“I did my research and I was convinced it was a good project. Sweet potatoes are easy to grow and yield a generous harvest. The key thing is water. Luckily for me, there is a well nearby and it has helped a lot. To start off, I tried the red, brown and white coloured tubers. I was impressed by the yield,” she says.
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They type of crop that Wambui focuses on takes three months to be ready for harvest. From that crop, she harvests 5,000 kilos and sells a kilo at Sh. 30. Her earnings in a month come to Sh. 150,000 after every three months.
She says she has a ready market for her produce. “I have a number of clients who come to my farm to get the potatoes and at the same time, I sell some at the local Subukia Trading Centre, which is 1km from my home,” the farmer said.
According to Wambui, production of sweet potato is cost-effective unlike other crops like beans, maize and Irish potatoes.
“Potato production is cheap as long as the soil is fertile. There is no need for fertilisers,” she states. The biggest challenge with growing sweet potatoes is that they require a lot of water. Other than sweet potatoes, Wambui also grows black peas commonly known as njahe, to supplement her income.
She says the black peas are on high demand due to their high nutritional content. “I anticipate to harvest the crop by February. I feed my family with some and sell the surplus,” she says.
Wambui says the black peas which mature after six months are grown in rows for easier weeding and harvesting. The farmer has also planted 80 stems of bananas.
“I rake in about Sh. 10,000 monthly depending on market price and size,” she says. The advantage of growing bananas is that it does not require a lot of work.
The only farm work is pruning, stemming and weeding for maximum crop production. With her farming venture going on for her, Wambui is able to comfortably take care of her large family of 15 and also put aide some money for investment.
