Bureti youth opts for profitable pineapples

After graduating with a diploma in Public Relations from Mount Kenya University, Collins Koech did not see the need to sit down and wait for an employment opportunity to knock on the door. Instead, he made up his mind to venture into pineapple farming in order to make ends meet.

“I ventured into pineapple farming in September 2016, after I completed my studies.

“I ventured into pineapple farming because I have always preferred to do my own business rather than waiting to be employed and having in mind the untapped potential of pineapple farming in the area,’’ says the youthful farmer, who graduated in the year 2015.

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He adds that most of the locals in the area are involved with tea farming. “I saw pineapple farming as a great opportunity to invest in,’’ reveals the farmer, who works with his mother, Susan Rono, in growing pineapples in an area known as Ng’oina Road in Bureti, which is in Kericho County.

He says that before planting the crop, the farm has to be cultivated two to three times. “One sucker is bought at Sh5 from the locals, then planted and is ready for harvest in six months.

However, pineapples reach full maturity in one year, where it is able to produce up to eight fruits per sucker. They are usually harvested four times in a month and then sold at Sh90 per fruit to the locals,’’ says Koech.

The farmer reveals that an acre piece of land can hold up to four thousand (4,000) plants and that one has to have a starting capital of Sh20,000, for production of pineapples in an acre piece of land.

“The advantage with pineapples is that they are able to survive with little rainfall and are not prone to many diseases,’’ he says, adding that moles have been a great challenge to them, especially when they invade pineapple farms in large numbers.

“With their large numbers, they can bring havoc on the farm. There is also the problem of a prolonged drought that ends up destroying the fruits,’’ the young farmer adds.

Apart from the challenge of moles which attack the farms and the drought, Koech reveals that there is also the problem of securing a ready market. “I have not been able to get a larger market outside the area,’’ laments the farmer.

The optimistic farmer reveals that his future plans would be to have his produce consumed not only locally, but also outside the country.

“I would also like to venture into other businesses like the hotel industry, where I would be able to use the same product to make fruit juice, fruit salads, and fruit-related products,’’ says the optimistic young farmer.