By Joyce Okuta
Thousands of university students are usually very optimistic
to get white-collar jobs after graduating in various study fields and would
rather wait for their dreams to be fulfilled than venture into farming.
Kibet Langat and Benard yegon , former students at University
of Nairobi , both awaiting to graduate in
August 2014, with a Bachelor of Science Management of Agro ecosystems
and Environment course decided to take a different perspective from the normal
job hunting.
“When we shared with our fellow students about venturing into
farming, they all thought it was a crazy idea considering that we are
university graduates,” Narrates Gilbert Kibet.
He adds that they became butt of all the jokes when they
heard that they were planning to lease a farm in Baringo County, Marigat
Sub-county, in an arid area.
Despite all the discouragements, they had already made up
their minds to set off to Marigat after exams to try their luck in farming.
Gilbert Kibet 25 years old, was not new to the environment in
Marigat since he was attached to Marigat Maarifa centre for three months and became
familiar with dry land farming, particularly furrow irrigation which is
commonly practiced.
During his attachment period, he interacted with farmers and
heard of many stories on how they make a lot of money through watermelon
farming within a short period.
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| Gilbert and Benard tending to their farm |
“Upon completion of our class work last April, we came to Marigat
Sub County to undertake watermelon farming. We did it on a two acre farm in two
different pieces of land, 3/4 acre and 1¼acre
separate farms.”Says Gilbert
He further reveals that he had been reading in the media of
farmers who have made millions out of watermelon farming.
Kibet and Benard share
same interest, they both studied Agro-ecosystems thus encouraged each other to
try farming.
They got their initial capital from HELB loan savings and
savings from pool table business they ran while in campus. Their friends also
supported them through soft loans.
“We relied solely on
river Perkerra for the irrigation water throughout the farming period. We hired
generator ksh 2,000 for the whole period, bought watermelon seeds , a variety
by the name Julie f1 at ksh 12,000,land
hiring ksh 4,000,” Said Bernard.
Additionally, they spent Kshs 2,500 for cultivating, setting
up of furrows in the farm cost a total of ksh 8,500 for the two acres and Planting,
which amounted to ksh 2,400.
Farming Experience
Watermelon farming requires use of different kinds of
chemicals i.e fungicides ( milraz, ivory and antrocal) , insecticide (thunder,
marshal, katrin, orthene and remectin)
and foliar feeds( Omex) and agri- grow used to bio stimulate fruiting
and flowering.
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| Gilbert spraying watermelon crop |
“All these chemicals are quite expensive and require to be
changed regularly especially for the insecticides to avoid the incident of
insects developing resistance to chemical use. “ Reiterates Bernard
He further emphasized that Weeding is done twice depending on
the amount of weed growth. Watering is also done after one day since the crop
requires a lot of water while spraying chemicals after every three days and
whenever any infection or infestation by pests was detected.
“We invested ksh 84,600 in the project which yielded
dividends after 65 days and we did most of the work in the farm to reduce the
cost of labour by almost 70%,”Says Gilbert.
He says that they managed to harvest 8 tons from 1 acre,
which they sold at Kshs 30 per Kg.
They understood that, Irrigated farming system is the way to
go in order to realize food security and continuous income flow for the farmers
in the country.
Farming is a sustainable project which both the county
governments and national government should focus on and It is challenging
especially when the farmers are not in contact with extension workers.
Challenges
The two young farmers faced a lot of challenges especially
when River Perkerra which was their main source of water dried up at the lower
side, this affected their work greatly.
Fungal infections in plants were another setback especially
when water from the river stagnates for some time.
They lost almost ¾ acre to crop damage by goats since most of
the communities around their farm keep goats .During the period when the crops
were almost ready for harvesting, porcupines invaded their farm hence crop
damage.
Lack of market for the produce for watermelon, they had to
rely on middlemen for them to sell promptly since they did not have a storage facility.
Adapting to the extreme weather conditions was another
challenge since they both come from highlands.
Future plans and advice
to youth
Gilbert and Bernard are planning to pursue masters programme
and do farming in future .They also intend to Venture into animal production and
ranching.
“I would like to encourage Young people to employ themselves
through agriculture since it requires little investment.” Says Kibet
He adds that, they should try playing in the other end of
production, transportation, marketing and value addition.
“Farming requires a lot of commitment, hard work and
resources to undertake.” He concludes.
Farmers in Marigat Sub-county have
for a long time relied on maize crop for subsistence and commercial use. This occasionally
leads to massive loss caused by emergence of pests and diseases like maize
lethal necrosis that has been reported in most parts of Baringo County.
He adds that it takes 6 months for
the crop to mature and the market is readily available and lucrative. Prices
range between 300- 700 depending on the variety and size.
