There is no doubt in Lukas Ochieng, a horticultural farmer in Homa Bay County, that watermelon and tomato farming are his ticket to riches. For the past one year, the farmer has slowly been building his farm, and the results are beginning to trickle in.

“I started off with a capital of Sh. 3,000. My aim was to start tomato farming on a one acre land in Karachuonyo.” However, Ochieng’ could not marshal together the requisite resources to guarantee a bumper harvest, and he only managed to make Sh. 10,000 from his first harvest.

But he did not give up and instead wet for better tomato varieties. “I now prefer Kilele F1 and Fortune maker  tomato varieties due to their high yields and suitability to the area’s climatic and soil conditions,” he says.

Seven months ago, he started large-scale tomato farming. “Output from the crop has been rising steadily and peaked during my latest harvest, which saw me take home Sh78,000. I never imagined I could pocket such money from cultivating tomatoes in just one season,” says Ochieng.

In an effort to diversify his farming venture and reduce over-reliance on tomatoes as his only source of income in farming, Ochieng’ started growing watermelons in January this year.

He planted  watermelons on a three-quarter-acre piece of land. The crop takes between 75 to 80 days to mature.

Ochieng’ estimates to earn at least Sh20,000 from the crop. “The crop has performed well and I look forward to a bumper harvest in the end,” said the farmer, adding that his customers come directly to the farm in search of the juicy fruit.

A kilo of watermelon fetches between Sh20 to Sh30 and a fully grown fruit can weigh up to 10kg. “I use farm manure during planting and regularly spray the crop to keep them free of pests and diseases,” he says.

Still, crop pests and diseases and unpredictable weather have been a challenge. Diseases that attack watermelon include fruit blotch, gummy stem blight and rind necrosis. “Watermelons are vulnerable to attacks by pests such as aphids, cutworms and melon worm, which lower productivity,” he says.

From his brief experience in farming, Ochieng’ says that diversification in crop production is crucial as it enables farmers have alternative crops for sale in the event that one fails or market prices collapse. “A good farmer should not stick to growing only one crop. Diversification is a security in case one crop fails to do well,” he advises.