This archive report was first published on 13 January 2020.
January 13, 2020, marked a significant day for Oscar Gitonga, a China-educated telecoms engineer, as he embarked on a new journey in farming. His 30-acre farm in Meru's Mitunguu Rwompo village has become a model for banana cultivation.
Gitonga's passion for farming began after graduating from Liaoning University of Technology in China. He explains the process of growing bananas, 'To grow bananas, one needs to dig sizeable holes measuring 3ft by 2ft deep. Bananas should be planted deep as good anchorage is provided by deep planting while at the same time preventing premature emergence of suckers.'
He uses a spacing of 13ft from one line to the other and 12ft from one crop to the other. After eight months, Gitonga applies three wheelbarrows of manure per plant, spreading it on the open ground at the location of the roots. He then uses three bags of fertiliser NPK 17:17:17 per acre and thoroughly mixes by use of a Jembe while ensuring plenty of water to the crop.
Gitonga's farm is a testament to his innovative approach to farming. He integrates other crops such as pawpaw, water melon, and butternut that act both as waiting crops and also as cover crops. 'Before planting bananas, I start with paw paws which I plant six months prior to the time I plan to plant bananas and once the pawpaw start flowering, I then plant bananas and during this time I also integrate other cover crops that also act as waiting crops such as water melon and butter nut which fetch premium in the market,' he explains.
Today, Gitonga is a happy farmer reaping from his passion. He also manages a dairy farm, rearing 15 cows, 6 of which are bulls, 4 heifers, and five lactating cows, managing an average of 30 litres per cow. To the youth, Gitonga advises, 'them to try realize that one special thing that they are good at and specialize in it instead of sitting and waiting for others to discover something for them.'
