Hi,

Has anybody tried out the green house tomato farming with this offer from Amiran where you get


Green house
Nap sack sprayer
irrigation tubing
600 litre collapsible tank
seasonal seeds,fertilizer and pesticides

at a cost of 150K ?

what is your take on this kind of investment?

i am thinking of venturing

If you are planning for a year plant rice,if for a decade plant trees,if for a lifetime give people education

No collateral,no deposits.

all you need is at least 1/8 acre piece of land.

check out their site http://www.amirankenya.c...ucts/amiran-farmers-kit

If you are planning for a year plant rice,if for a decade plant trees,if for a lifetime give people education

there was a similar topic by ngwono..
@ m/s ngwono,can you please report your findings since then??its been quite some time since you got your querries answered.any progress with farming??

@ njung'e..suppose one buys the polythene and then some timber and then hires a fundi,would the cost go lower than your 110k?

@Njung'e;

Very true...and the problem is not the gauge,but the type of plastic....it must be UV resistant,otherwise it will shred after a few months in the sunshine.

Still; I'd like to here from some one on the sort of returns you get from the 150k green house. Then one can decide whether to take it up.

Behind the gardens...Behind the wall...Under the tree (Including: Red...Dark Blue...Yellow)

It is worth investing in the farmers kit. We have partnered with Amiran to teach farmers on use of the tool. They also monitor and do follow up after installation. Israel is famed for taming a tiny barren desert and turning it into lush farmland,feeding its people and being a major player in the export market.

Truly Unique!

@Wendz. I meant that the design of the tunnel is modular so you can join two to make 8m X 30m. This size is big enough for take 1,200 tomato plants. It is not necessary to invest in the standard greenhouse for vegetable farming - the price is depressing.

@AlphDoti. My tunnel is located in my rural family farm and needs some 500 litres of water every 2 days. Source is rain harvested (from the last 'failed' rains!) and a local spring. Allow me to digress - if your water tap is not dry,1,000 litres of NWSC water costs 18/= right?


There are no accidents.

@simpson you're definately doing good educaiton here.
I know you can use rain (dam),borehole,river/pump,tap NWC water,lorry etc.

If I buy water from the lorry guys 'clean water'. And assuming Ksh3.00/20litre i.e. ksh75 for two day's 500litres of water. Will still give me good returns?

Litres Price/Litre Cost Days
20 0.15 3
250 0.15 38 1
500 0.15 75 2
1000 0.15 150 4
2000 0.15 300 8
3000 0.15 450 12
5000 0.15 750 20
6000 0.15 900 24
7000 0.15 1050 28
8000 0.15 1200 32

Of course depending on the lorry guy would be very unreliable.


AKS

@poigge. Try their site as given below by @excetra!

Crocodile tears: If you can't assist me when I'm alive en you attend my funeral.

Ati you can make 600k to 700k per year from this thing?

Is that really true?

Behind the gardens...Behind the wall...Under the tree (Including: Red...Dark Blue...Yellow)

@bird_man. It's still early days to confirm the payback but so far the following hold true for drip irrigation and growing under plastic.

- Water consumption is quite low. Will increase as the plants grow but since you direct water to the plant roots,wastage is minimal.

- Apart from the root area of the plant,all other soil is dry so weeding is minimal.

- The plant leaves are always dry. Less chances of disease causing organisms finding a home there. Since the plants are enclosed,insects and wind bourne pathogens are kept away. Savings on pesticides are significant.

- Growth under plastic is vigorous. Most plants thrive in the hot humid climate. Your harvest starts early. Also,you can grow and harvest all year round since you do not rely on the rain.

- If you plant the right hybrids,you can harvest for months while regular vegetable harvest season lasts only weeks - if they survive the rain and frost.

- You will need labour to stake and prune the plants. Once the watering system is installed,it takes one person some 30 minutes to turn on the valve and watch the drip system do its magic over thousands of plants.

@Poggie. Vegetable farming the traditional way is back breaking. Once you see the Israeli developed system at work,you will wonder why we do things the hard way. Visit Agro Irrigation up the road after the round-about next to Amiran - less professional but good to see. You may have to lay off some farm hands when the benefits of the system kick in though.

@AlphDoti. My point about the water is that,it is very cheap if you can access it. Problem is if you do not have your own source,it may simply run out - probably because it is too cheap! One other thing,you want to be able to keep an eye on things so be prepared to visit your investment at least twice a week as you train a reliable assistant. My take is that Kenya will have a food deficit for some years so make hay while the sun shines and employ some youth while at it.


There are no accidents.