This archive report was first published on 11 November 2019.
Located less than a kilometre from Kianyaga town, a one-acre farm owned by Peter Murimi and Nester Gaturi is a prime example of the benefits of mixed farming. The farm, which spans one acre, is home to a diverse range of crops including coffee, Hass avocado, pawpaw, macadamia bananas, and vegetables.
According to Nester, the couple opted for mixed farming as a way to maximize land use, given the scarcity of land in the area. With limited capital at the beginning, they developed an enterprise that not only provides work throughout the year but also increases the productivity of the farm.
The farm hosts 300 stems of coffee, 25 stems of Hass Avocado, 20 trees of pawpaw, five macadamia trees, and 30 banana stems. Nester explains that she is able to keep the farm in continuous production while reducing the risk of waste, as much of the waste is recycled, saving her much on the cost of purchasing external inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides.
“Waste from the farm acts as feed to the livestock while the waste from the livestock acts as manure to the crops and this reduces our dependency on external inputs. The farming thus complements one another and even reduces the risk of pest and diseases,” Murimi explains.
To enhance their farming, the couple attends farmers’ trainings organized by the ministry of agriculture and from different independent organizations and agricultural training centers. They also liaise with other farmers to ensure that they are not exploited by the middlemen.
“We also network with other farmers to sell as a group. We have previously been exploited by the middlemen as they used to buy our produce at throwaway prices while at the same time enticing some farmers to harvest their produce even before they acquired the right market weight,” Gaturi explains.
On average, every year the farm earns them close to Sh500,000, which has enabled the couple to educate their children in some of the best schools in the country. They have also managed to construct a modern house and purchase a piece of land in Mwea at a cost of Sh400,000 and plant Hass variety of avocado.
“With mixed farming, we have no single regret as the farming not only provides us with a variety of financial benefits, but also offers us a high return on work, as all the products are utilized. The type of farming also offers us a shoulder to lean on when one enterprise is doing poorly in a given season and we are able to fall back on income from another enterprise,” Murimi explains.
Published on November 11, 2019.
