Farmer plucks cash from booming tomato venture

Hosea Njoroge with his pile of tomatoes on May 3, 2019. [Harun Mwathari, Standard]

For almost a decade, Hosea Njoroge acted as a link between farmers and the market. He sold produce that he didn’t know how much work went into growing it.

However, interacting with farmers inspired him to venture into farming.

Njoroge is now a proud farmer in Rongai, Nakuru County, where he has put over 20 acres of land on tomatoes.

Njoroge recalls back in 2004 when he could barely make Sh500 per day from selling tomatoes that he had gotten from other farmers and says he could have ventured into growing the tomatoes himself sooner had he known the advantages that came with growing his own. 

“My father was a farmer and for so long I knew that is where I belonged. I realised I was wasting my time buying from other farmers, again buyers discovered how to beat the system and started buying directly from the farmers,” he notes.  He bought seedlings and leased a quarter acre piece of land at Sh2,000 and embarked on his farming journey. After a while, he was able to secure land in a different area and close to a water source.   “Tomatoes take three months and that’s why I prefer them. The fact that I am next to a river makes farming easier for me as I don’t have to rely on rainfall,” he adds.

Njoroge prefers the Roma variety and gets his seedlings from Naivasha but says goat manure has been the secret ingredient that keeps his farm flourishing. 

“The Roma variety is strong and resistant to diseases, it is also high yielding and the size is generally bigger than compared to other varieties, it also has a long shelf life,” he says.

“I do not use fertiliser during planting. I dig trenches to accommodate a four seedling column and then one between the columns for the water passage. I water the seedlings after every four days,” adds Njoroge.

An acre of the farm accommodates up to 10,000 seedlings meaning the whole farm has over 180,000 seedlings. Two weeks later he applies Di Ammonium Phosphate fertiliser (DAP).

On the third week, he applies NPK fertiliser and weeds again. After six weeks, he reapplies the fertiliser. He uses Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) for top dressing to boost growth.

Staking of the tomatoes plants is important and as Njoroge puts it, it helps in keeping tomatoes’ growth upwards, prevents rotting and contact of the leaves and fruits with the ground. “I use three sticks to support my tomatoes. A stick costs me like Sh5 and considering I use three in a seedling, it is at times a challenge,” he notes. At the flowering stage, the plants are on their vulnerable stage and everything could go wrong if they are not well tended to at this stage.

Pests and disease control are done during this stage. Most pests are mites, aphids and cutworms while diseases are early blight Septoria leaf spot and Southern Bacteria. 

“The first harvest is done just after two and a half months. After that, the fruits are harvested daily for another two months. I don’t struggle with marketing, having been there before, I take my tomatoes to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisii, and Nakuru. The market is good when the supply is less during dry season and it is bad during wet season,” he says.

A crate can go for up to Sh12,000 per crate but when the demand is high.

“But it is not all rosy, sometimes things are really hard for us. We have to be on the lookout for disease outbreaks which can clear out a whole crop if not dealt with well. Sometimes I am forced to do it twice in a week and you can imagine the danger in that,” he adds.

Njoroge, however, believes he made the right decision going into tomato farming as every household in Kenya uses approximately four tomatoes daily.  

[email protected]   


Want to get latest farming tips and videos?
Join Us