Soon after completing his studies at Kabarak University in 2018, all Patrick Kirui wanted was a job opportunity, and he was lucky to get one.

Kirui was employed as a marketer at a Nakuru-based motor vehicle company, but time proved this was not the right job for him. He was paid a commission at the firm, and for six good months, Kirui sold only one car.

This dampened his spirit, prompting him to quit and explore opportunities in other sectors. From his childhood, Kirui had traded passion fruits, a venture he was introduced into by his friends.

He decided to return to trading passion fruits as he had already mastered it and earned some reasonable amount from this business.

“I realized selling cars was a seasoned job, so I decided to quit and fully venture into passion fruits. I started selling passion fruits in 2010 when I was still a student at a local secondary school after I was introduced to it by a friend with an initial capital of Sh100,’’ he said.

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It was in this trade that Kirui raised capital of sh50, 000 which he used to start a passion fruit farm. He used Sh20, 000 of the amount to lease two acres of land in Nakuru while Sh30, 000 catered for fertilizer, herbicides, ploughing, and labor.

He got some seedlings from a relative for free, helping him actualize his farming dream. Kirui harvests 600kg of passion fruits from his farm and sells them at Sh120 per kg.

This means his farm makes sh72,000 per month, but after deductions of the monthly production cost amounting to Sh12,000, Kirui pockets sh 60,000.

His venture into passion fruit farming not only made him a successful agripreneur but also created a new market for other passion fruit farmers in the region.

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 “Sometimes, when ferrying my produce to the market, I buy more fruits from my village and sell them at a profit to boost my earnings,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges he has struggled with in the venture is the fluctuation of market prices occasioned by high supply.

“When the supply at the market is high, the demand lowers, and thus we end up selling a kilo of passion fruit at Sh80, which is a huge loss, especially for those of us who have a high stock,” added Kirui.

He is planning to set up a factory for value edition, which will enable him and other farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers and big retail outlets without relying on brokers.