Kirinyaga farmers reap big from seedling propagation venture

Seedling propagation is turning into a profitable venture for farmers in Kirinyaga County in the wake of rising demand for healthy and readily available planting material.

About 60 farmers groups have been supported by the County Government of Kirinyaga to establish greenhouses for tomato seedling nurseries for sale to growers in the wake of rising demand.

Governor Anne Waiguru says the farmers have been supported through Wezesha Kirinyaga empowerment programme to propagate tomato seedlings for sale to growers.

She said tomato growing groups have received Ksh. 30 million for construction of green houses and drip irrigation systems to enable them grow tomato varieties suitable for processing in the second phase of National Agricultural Rural Inclusive Growth (NARIG) projects

The governor said that her administration has been supporting tomato farmers to increase production and provision of a favourable market environment.

She said under Wezesha Kirinyaga program, the county government also plans to construct a tomato processing factory at Kangai with the aim of enabling farmers to add value to their produce for better incomes.

The governor said with increased tomato production, her administration decided to construct its first exclusive tomato market at Makutano market which is the second largest tomato market in the county after Kagio market, targeting wholesale and retail tomato traders from the neighbouring counties as well as some from Nairobi and Mombasa.

She said the facility which will accommodate about 500 traders is almost complete.

“The market will offer a conducive environment for tomato farmers to aggregate their produce for sale. The market is a great relief for traders who have been displaced by the ongoing expansion of the Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriage,” said Waiguru.

Increased demand for quality, readily available tomato seedlings and good environmental conditions for farming in the area has been driving the rising demand for the seedlings throughout the year.

The seedlings are grown under drip irrigation in the greenhouses.

Jane Njeri, the chairperson of Mwihoko Jericho Women Group located at Thiba in Mwea, says venturing into seedling propagation is helping members get extra income to feed their families.

Njeri says due to unpredictable market prices for tomatoes, the group decided to engage in seedling propagation after realizing there was a gap in the sector.

“We realised farmers were going all the way to Naivasha to buy readily available propagated tomato seedlings, the demand is high and we are expanding slowly to propagate more seedlings,” she said.

John Njongolo, chairman of Tebere ward Community Driven Deployment Committee (CDDC) says hundreds of farmers who are members of the groups undertaking the venture have been trained by experts on how to venture into innovative approaches like seedling propagation.

“The knowledge-based propagation training combine’ horticulture expertise and industry awareness with the use of cutting-edge technology in production of the healthiest plant material,” said Njongolo.

Simon Muriithi, Ngariama Ward CDDC chairman said four groups in his area are undertaking the project and have already put up greenhouses ready to start planting in two weeks’ time.

“Our main problem in this area normally is unfavourable climatic conditions for propagating seedlings. Now with these greenhouses provided by the county government, we are sure that we will be able to get readily available seedlings for planting and selling throughout the year,” he said.

Kirinyaga is the largest producer of tomatoes in Kenya producing about 63,000 tons of tomatoes earning farmers around Ksh. 1.5 billion annually.