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: 21 September 2022; Hits: 2346

Vegetable drying helps farmers keep produce for up to 8 months

Vegetable solar drier

The inclusion of a solar drier into production has increased the shelf-life of vegetables from two days to more than eight months, allowing Kisii County farmer, Jared Otundo, sell his vegetables for longer and faraway.

Otundo says drying the black night shade and spider flower vegetables has helped him reduce rotting losses to zero.

“I am able to supply vegetables to my customers wherever they are any time. Dry vegetables can last for more than eight months when the moisture is reduced to less than five per cent,” Otundo said during the 2017 Kisii Agricultural Society of Kenya.

Unlike fresh vegetables that require disposal within two days, he can hold on until when the market fetches more. During rainy seasons, the oversupply of the vegetables lead to low prices. This is his time of accumulating and drying the two varieties and stocking.

Black night shade, commonly called manage that fetches between Sh200 and Sh300 when wet earns Otundo up to Sh700 when dry.

His main market is Eldoret, Kisumu, Kericho, Nakuru, Garissa, among other towns where he has customers who make orders.

The solar equipment has a special chamber for blowing away moisture. The vegetables lose the moisture, but the colour remains the same.

After packaging and sealing in labeled polythene bags, the cargo is less bulky for transporting.

“The managu looks less in quantity when packaged. But after dipping it in some warm water before cooking makes it regain its original fresh size,” he said.

Direct drying in the sun discolourises the leaves, besides denaturing the vitamins and other components that give the vegetables their special taste and aroma.

Otundo relies on irrigation for production in his two acre farm at Nyankongo.

With such a plan, the farmer says, it is easy to have a constant supply to the market, and therefore, reducing shortages during dry seasons.

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: 16 September 2022; Hits: 885

Embu trader looking for 10M Tonnes of cassava for export to China

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By George Munene

An agro commodities trader based in Embu is looking for a consistent annual supply of 10 million tonnes of dried cassava for export to China.

Dennis Fundi, who previously exported shelled macadamia to the Southeast Asian nation, said he has had difficulty rounding up enough farmers to meet a fraction of this requirement.

“I have managed to get in contact with a number of cassava growers around Embu but the numbers are still minuscule and the supply erratic. If I could at least meet half of the order, we'd send samples of the crop to China and get the ball rolling,” Dennis said.

The cassava should have starch content over 67 per cent; moisture, fiber, and silica levels under 14 per cent, five per cent, and three per cent respectively.

In tropical regions, cassava is cultivated as an annual crop, and it is the third-highest source of carbohydrates.

Between 2022-2030 the cassava market is expected to grow 3.9 per cent and reach a market value of $ 5.5 Billion in the forecast period. This will be buoyed by the growth of its use in new industries such as biofuel, animal feed, and laundry.

Dennis Fundi: 0700362814

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: 15 September 2022; Hits: 559

Nyandarua vegetable growers get a better deal through group farming

Samuel Kihia

By George Munene

At the beginning of the year, over 60 farmers with around 100 acres of land in Njabini, Nyandarua County, collectivised under 3 Ridges Agribusiness Organisation. This they say has helped them get discounted prices for farm inputs and more bargaining power when selling their produce.

“When selling your groceries as an individual, brokers often demand to buy from you in bags, that's how farmers wind up selling 150 kilograms of potatoes for the price of a 90-kilogram bag. With bulk products that can be got from a sing source and location, we have greater bargaining power and are even looking to bypass middlemen and sell directly to agro-processers,” explained the group's chairman Samuel Kyihiah.

The group, which is still in its infancy, is working to leverage its numbers to partner with organisations such as USAID.

Its farmers cultivate potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, spinach, sprouts, and turnips.

For farmers in Njabini, as with most of Kenya, access to markets and the skyrocketing cost of inputs have been the major hurdles to making a success out of farming.

“We train farmers, are able to make bulk purchases at marginally cheaper costs, and source for markets at a position of relative strength than we were before,” said Samuel.

According to a research paper on the Economic impact of farming cooperatives in East Africa, in Kenya, growing cooperatives provided farmers with collective marketing which improved their incomes compared to noncooperative farmers. Other benefits for the farmers included access to technological innovation and extension services, which were linked to higher-value markets.

In readiness for the short rains, the farmers are sowing the Unica potato variety targeting crisps and chip makers, and are hopeful that more markets will open up in time.

Samuel Kyihiah, 3 Ridges Agribusiness Organisation: 0721813430

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