At the heart of Njoro, Nakuru County, sits a quarter-acre herb farm owned by Sarah Nyambura, a farmer who is experiencing great success in the less exploited venture.

The farmer discovered the highly profitable venture after years of losses in cabbage and Tomato farming.

Nyambura notes that her initial agribusiness was not only less profitable but also labour-intensive compared to herb farming.

From a quarter-acre of cabbages, she would make around Sh20,000 in three months, while she makes more than double the amount from mint on a similar-sized plot in two weeks.

She grows various medicinal and culinary herbs, including thyme, Chia, Rosemary, Basil, mints, Sage, Marjoram, Gooseberry, and Oregano.

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“Initially, I grew the herbs for home consumption. I used to sell them to my neighbours who would use them to spice and dress foodstuffs such as rice, fish, stews, chicken and tea,” she says.

According to her, herbs are easy to manage with most of them reaching maturity between three to five months.

She notes that after maturity, one can continuously harvest after one or two weeks, with a kilo of the produce going for between Sh220 to Sh800.

Irene Muchimba a nutritionist says that herb farming is a venture that is yet to be exploited, yet it can create employment and income, especially for young people.

She says that the farming is simple, less capital and labour-intensive, and lucrative as long as the farmer is well prepared.

For instance, she notes that thyme fetches about Sh800 per kilogram in the international market, with the main market being within the European Union (EU), while a kilogram of the other herbs fetches about Sh394 in the export market.

She encourages farmers to try the venture to address the high market demand in Russia, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.

“Demand for our herbal crops peaks up in the European market from October to March during winter. We advise our farmers to increase their volumes during this period,” explains Ms Muchimba.

Muchimba further advises people intending to venture into herbs farming to seek partnerships with the European Union and United National Industrial Development Organization (Unido) funded Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP), which aims to promote markets for produce, including herbs, internationally.