Martin Gathogo: Gilgil farmer making millions from lucrative fruits export, real estate

The town of Gilgil along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway is often viewed as vast land occupied by shrubs and a sea of dust occasionally cluttering the sky under the scorching sun.

However, some few kilometres past River Morindet, a waft of refreshing coolness welcomes you to Martin Gathogo’s Kingdom Farm. He is a fruit and crops farmer. Aside from this, he also has several interests in real estate.

Through irrigation, Gathogo has transformed his land, once a windy semi-desert with scarce vegetation. He’s cultivated 1000 trees of Hass and Fuerte avocado varieties, 1000 Washington Navel and Pixie orange trees, and around 200-300 mango trees. Occasionally, he ventures into watermelon farming.

Gathogo has dedicated about 10 acres of his land exclusively to fruit farming, while another 20 acres are reserved for vegetables. He obtains fruit tree seedlings from his nursery as well as purchasing from other Kenyan farmers.

He explained that the fruit farming business is very lucrative given that the market is always ready both locally and internationally, however mostly for exports.

Gathogo said that his Washington Navel oranges yield consistently throughout the year, each selling for a minimum of Sh. 10. A single tree can produce up to 500 fruits, potentially earning Sh. 5,000 per tree.

I quit my job aged 32 in the 80s, I have never regretted farming Hass Avocados

He says avocadoes fetch a minimum of Sh. 20 on the international market. To succeed in fruit farming, Gathogo advised that it would be prudent to water the trees and manure them at least twice in a year.

“We put two cans of manure on every tree every year to ensure the trees get enough food. The most important thing is water. There is a lot of sunshine right now,” he said.

His major challenges on his farm include pests and wild animals such as zebras and monkeys. To tackle challenges like fruit flies, Gathogo uses methods such as applying green copper and setting pheromone traps on the farm. He has trained dogs on his farm to keep wild animals from damaging plants.

“I have to light fires around the farm to keep zebras and other herbivores at bay.”

Martin Gathogo has hired 10 permanent employees on his farm, with an additional 11 contractual workers employed daily to handle the workload.

“When it comes to farming, you can’t do it without passion and also God’s favour. God decides that’s your life and He guides you through it,” Gathogo advised aspiring farmers.

Mr Gathogo is also a livestock farmer who keeps both the Sahiwal and Boran breeds of cattle. Speaking to Seeds of Gold,  he noted that he started with 1 cow before they increased and are now over 110.

“I bought the first cow in 2000 for Sh. 15,000 which I had to pay in instalments,” he said. At the time, he worked as a Freelance photographer shortly after completing secondary education.

He revealed that he gets an average of 80 litres of milk daily which he sells at Sh. 42 to hotels and milk bars in Gilgil town. It’s through his farming journey that Gathogo got to invest in real estate, which is now worth millions of shillings.

“It is the farming that started the real estate business, but the latter has been of support to farming because that is how I got the 19 acres where I plan to do even more intensive farming,” he said.