This archive report was first published on 14 September 2019.
Published on September 14, 2019, by Manase Otsialo, a journalist with the Nation.
Adow Mohamed Lugh, a resident of Mandera, hung up his journalistic boots in 2012 after 30 years of reporting for the Kenya News Agency. He then decided to try farming on his 63-acre piece of land on the slopes of Sala hills, Lafey sub-county.
Initially, Lugh started with maize on eight acres and then added more acres of watermelons but incurred losses due to the lack of a good local market. He was forced to give out the maize to locals who kept donkeys.
Beaten, Lugh took a break from farming as he worked as the chief officer in-charge of public service at the county government from 2013 to 2017. The idea of growing simsim struck him last year when he met a farmer selling the produce at a local market.
Armed with information on simsim, he bought 4kg of seeds from the local market and planted the crop on eight acres in May after doing further research online. Lugh does not use any fertilizers because the soils are fertile, and the crop grows pest-free due to the harsh climate.
Simsim takes about four months to mature and can be planted either on a seedbed first before it is transplanted or through broadcasting. It needs a spacing of 10cm within rows and 30cm between rows if transplanted. The seeds are placed at a depth of 3cm because of their smaller size and covered loosely with soil.
“Simsim grows very fast; the first weeding is done at two weeks after germination since the crop is very sensitive to weed competition in early growing stages,” Lugh says.
He pumps water into furrows on the farm from River Daua at least twice a week to irrigate the crops. The crop is ready for harvest when the stem changes from green to yellow and then to red, and the leaves begin to fall off.
Harvesting is done when 75 per cent of the fruit capsules have ripened. “One harvests by uprooting the whole plant or cutting stems using a knife. The stems are then tied into bundles, stalked upright, and placed in sacks,” Lugh says.
One week after harvesting, thrashing is done followed by winnowing of the seeds, which should be stored with 10 per cent moisture content.
Bernard Ogutu, the Mandera agriculture director, says the county has a potential to produce simsim on large-scale but is hampered by the lack of certified seeds. “Seeds planted are stored locally, which affects production,” he says.
In 2017, the county harvested 88 metric tonnes of simsim, a feat Mr Ogutu says they are working to surpass.
