Training of Entrepreneurs in Agriculture in Githunguri has been credited for improved Agricultural practices which has resulted in an increase in farm produce.
Various youth and women groups in Ikinu and Komothai wards of Githunguri sub-counties have benefitted from the training and now aim higher in upscaling their Agribusinesses that have been their source of livelihoods.
A tour by KNA yestarday in Ikinu witnessed how a 33 year old farmer has doubled his farm produce and is now earning between 40,000 and 45,000 shillings monthly from his one acre farm that he inherited from his father.
Paul Nyota while talking to KNA round his farm he noted that he had undertaken several training sessions sponsored by the Food Agriculture Organisation in conjunction with the County Government of Kiambu.
The father of 2 has ventured into cultivating caspsicum, kales, spinach,mrenda and mto which are indeginous vegetables that are not known in the area. Mrenda known in English as jute mallow and miro are indeginous vegetables that take about 3-4 months that are popular with the non locals in ikinu, he said.
“ Iam trying mto and mrenda for the first time and it appears i may not satisfy the market because it is booked by people who work in these tea plantations across this river who traverse our village and can easily access it without having to go to the market for it.
He said the people (casual workers mainly from Uganda, Western and Nyanza regions were mesmerized when they spotted the vegetables in his farm and they immediately started purchasing from him directly and that he did not go looking for buyers of the indeginous vegetables.
Mr. Nyota confessed that the training had exposed him to embracing new crops which were not flooded in the region and as such he was sure of remaining afloat in his type of agriculture.
The training has also enabled him to upscale his activities so that he has engaged more people on his farm. Mr. Nyota said when he realised that he had alot of work on his farm he decided to look for additional people who could work for him and he could pay them on a daily basis 300 shillings.
“As the crops continued to grow I noted that it needed constant attention as I had been taught irrigation techniques which I embraced and had to engage one of the casuals on a permanent basis” he said.
Asked how he chose whom to give priority to the casuals who had worked on his farm, he said he had been observing their output and performance whenever he gave them the part time jobs.
“There is one who can work well like he is on his farm and there are those who only came to work so that they could get some wage at the end of the day. Whenever I could look at the farm after they left, i would be compelled to get someone to repeat what this worker had done” he says.
He says after keenly working with Stephen Njoroge for one year, he saw potential in him that he was the right person to work with him.
Mr. Nyota is full of praise of Njoroge saying when he is working in the farm, you would think it is his own farm and you would not believe that he is a casual worker.
“Njoroge stood out from the many young people i had been working with and i decided to retain him permanently so that he can be assisting me to produce quality produce for as i endevour to take care of my young family”he says
By Lydia Shiloya
