The following feature was first published in the Daily Nation.

When he is not in Wudanyi – his county’s headquarters – or not doing official rounds, Governor John Mruttu will most likely be at his home in Kimala, Taveta. This is where the soul of the Taita Taveta County governor is, since he is a farmer.

“Farming to me is no longer a hobby, it is serious business.  Although it is not a major source of income, I want to lead from the front and contribute to food security and try to create employment for our youth,’’ says Mruttu.

He adds by ‘‘soiling’’ his hands, he wants to encourage young people to get into farming, enjoy it and make money.

“I inherited some of this land from my father. Maybe this is one of the reasons I am passionate about farming since 1985 when I first tried my hand in it. I am determined to inspire young people to go into farming,” he says.

His people also know that their governor is a prominent farmer in the county.

“Almost everyone around here knows that our governor is among farmers who sell their bananas at Kongwea market in Mombasa County,’’ says   John Mwangola, who resides in Voi.

Mruttu has planted bananas on 20 acres and put another 10 acres on different types of vegetables. Furthermore, the farm and his homestead are dotted with mango, orange and indigenous trees as well as watermelons and paw paws.

Like his people in Taveta Sub-County, Mruttu also plants a lot of tomatoes.

He says his government plans to build a fruit processing plant for value addition so that it can increase money farmers are making currently and at the same time reduce the glut that arises mainly in August, making fruit farmers incur losses.

“People have shown interest to export bananas. We are currently holding talks with investors from Middle East. There are indications this will be possible in a few weeks because our bananas meet their expectations,” Mruttu tells Seeds of Gold.

Talks are also on with the Export Promotion Council to help in setting up an EPZ in Taveta, which is rich in banana, vegetable and fruit farming.

The governor says although he sells most of his bananas in Mombasa County, traders and business people also visit to buy from his farm, with a bunch fetching a minimum of Sh700 from the farm.  Most of his high-yield bananas are the product of tissue culture from the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute in Nairobi.

Governor Mruttu has also planted maize on a four-and-a-half piece of land and he is quite passionate about this particular plantation.  “I sell it green. It has very high demand,” says the soft-spoken former Kenya Oil Refinery General Manager.

Mruttu also keeps fish, which he rears in separate ponds within the farm.

Like the maize, the tilapia and the mud-fish are in so much demand that most of it is bought in Taveta and hardly gets to buyers in the neighbouring Mombasa County.

“It is unbelievable. The minute I send out a message that I have fish here, buyers flock and within no time, nothing is left,’’ says Mruttu, who has dug a 70m deep bore-hole that sustains all his farming activities.

He says fish farming has extra benefits to him because the water drained from the ponds has rich nutrients. He uses it to irrigate vegetables.

The governor keeps broilers, indigenous chicken and Kenbrow (a breed between traditional and broilers).   He sells the chicken locally to prominent hotels.

However, there is one aspect of his farming that Governor Mruttu is not proud of. His performance in dairy farming.  “My dairy unit is not doing well. I intend to do more and change the breed and tact for better results,’’ he says of his five dairy Friesian cows.’’  Although the area has potential in dairy farming, it has not been exploited fully.

“The potential is big here. The water table is quite high and there is no shortage of grass. We are pursuing the industry with a lot of vigour and have lined up a number of strategies.’’

Already, the county government has revived and improved the Bachuma Livestock Centre, which had collapsed and is now home to a new breed with the aim of producing high quality heifers for the people. Residents will then purchase them at affordable prices.

“We will also give every secondary school and polytechnic in the county a heifer,” says Mruttu, adding that in the heifer project, his government would have hit two birds with one stone by encouraging the youth to get into farming and developing the dairy industry in the mineral rich Taita Taveta County. The programme is expected to kick off next month.

Artificial Insemination (AI) services will also be re-introduced in each sub-county.  “Although mining is our economic mainstay, livestock farming has the biggest potential in the short-term.

“Young people do not get excited about the jembe. The blisters and the mess it causes on the hands would obviously not inspire the youth, especially girls,’’ he quips.