Wazua
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Will u be mentor in farming!
Rank: Member Joined: 2/22/2008 Posts: 13
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i am a starter in farming(horticulture) and certainly learning alot more practically than theorically.first u hav to love wat u r doing..love getting dirty,respctng the 'small' guy doing dirty job 4u.for a starter,the milestones are,cost of land,land preparation,fencing,water(critical),security..(farm house,or store),getting the right pple to work etc..then u need to do some research on the crop u are planing to plat. for horticuture,there is free information available at HCDA..they are located near JKIA,also KARI.for green house tecnlgy..there's agro irrigation ltd,amiran etc..the cost of a good green hse from agro irrgtn is 4.2m /acre.that is top of the range..but most farmers are using cheaper options,locally made by fundis at a much reduced price of arnd 150k..they work.as i said am a starter and things are so far so good,the crop is doing well though i will have to do some drip irrigation..all in all you need capital..my initial budget from theory was 100k for 2acre..but so far i am at over 200k (less land) and if i do irrigation i expect to spend another 50k - sprinkler system,or 110k drip irrigation..i expect good returns in future since the initial costs will be gone..all the best guys..gotta run buy gumboots
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Rank: Member Joined: 2/20/2007 Posts: 359
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@ all,
Farming must be the business start-up with the lowest failure rate coz most food produce is easily marketable,locally and far if u have transport and even abroad.
But I have never done commercial farming. Only ever wondering why fresh unprocessed garlic is so expensive in Europe and the way I love it. Same with my favourite pili pili,and pili pili grows in hot dry areas and I guess no pest would eat it and survive. Anyone producing these two for export? Must be very lucrative!
When buying shares,ask yourself,would you buy the whole company?
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/16/2007 Posts: 2,114
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@ubuntu,
Please share about the water part.Where do you get water and how do you store it?
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/7/2007 Posts: 11,935 Location: Nairobi
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@Ubuntu, Put the gumboots down first............Sprinkler system for 50K?......How much land can that take care of and where do i find it?. @Chaka, I know of a dude who has put a 40,000 litre concrete water tank and collects rain water fro all structures in his compound.This is only used during dry spells. God gives,mugikuyu takes. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
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Rank: Member Joined: 2/22/2008 Posts: 13
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@NJUNGE..yeah sprinkler system 2acres 50k or less..the sprinklers are only 1200/= each wih radius of 8m..i need 8-10No..the other cash is for piping etc..the sprinklers are movable..across the land.u do say 2hrs upper section,2hrs mid,and 2hrs down..etc..actually if i do myself i can even cost 35k ..water pump will b arnd 15k 5hp..drip is 110/acre..agro irrigatin..cheers
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Rank: Member Joined: 6/17/2008 Posts: 294
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@ubuntu
Please will u welcome my request to visit you! I long to pay you a visit @ your shags/ shamba/garden/ farm and see for myself how things go! I have that capital as well. I am ready to start,only information is what i am collecting! I don't want to reinvent the wheel. I want to apply what already works somewhere!
But you shall remember the LORD your God,for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth,that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers,as it is this day. Deu 8:18
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Rank: Member Joined: 6/17/2008 Posts: 294
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@ ubuntu
plus seeing your failures will enable me to avoid repeating them! Remember the proverb? Wise men learn from the mistakes of others,only fools learn from their own mistakes!Well,that's what's driving my visit to your farm!
But you shall remember the LORD your God,for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth,that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers,as it is this day. Deu 8:18
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Rank: Member Joined: 5/27/2009 Posts: 8
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@Ubuntu
Thanks a lot for the brief on your practical experience in farming.
Am also a starter in farming and what ubuntu has said is correct. To go into farming you need to develop a keen interest or passion for farming. it is not easy but I believe anybody can make it. Dont have much experience though but am curretly doing green house tomato on open field using the drip irrigation system. So far so good and the returns not bad. I reccomend the drip irrigation system to overhead irrigation unless you're using river water although that depends on your capital and the acrerage on crop. The drip system can be gotten from Agro- Irrigation or Irrico international who are fairly reasonable compared to Amiran. Green house is the way to go coz it increases production by 10 times and reduces deseases hence the cost of dawas!
I have done tomato on about 1,720 Square metres and am currently getting abou 1.7Tonnes of Tomato weekly!
So guys i guess we are on the right track. Lets do farming professionally and lets increase food production in the country!
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/16/2007 Posts: 2,114
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@kijana,
For how long have you done this?
Please give some insight regarding your source(s) of water and storage ?
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/15/2006 Posts: 41
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Thanks contributors. getting very interesting. keep on adding guys.
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Rank: Member Joined: 5/27/2009 Posts: 8
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@ Chaka
I started farming early last year but was frustrated by lack of water and had to stop for a while till this year. I started initially with dam water but due to unreliability of rain where i come from,the dam dried and i had to think of a permanent solution to the water problem!
Currently I have a dam (covering slightly more than 1/4 acre) which is now full thanks to the current rains and I had to sink a borehole to cover my crops when the rains fail.
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Rank: Member Joined: 5/12/2008 Posts: 59
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Check this out http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/ghtomato.pdf
Your greatest glory is not in never failing,but in rising every time you fail. Persistence means taking pains to overcome every obstacle,to do all that's necessary to reach your goal.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/27/2009 Posts: 70
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I plan to do onions in the next few months. Please advise on:
-The best variety
-How much the seeds cost per kg,where i can get the best deal & the approx. kgs i require for 5 acres
-How long do they take in the seedbed & from transplanting to harvest.
-Any other important info.
Will appreciate
'A ship in harbour is safe; but that is not what ships are made for'.
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Rank: Member Joined: 10/19/2006 Posts: 66
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wow.great discussion. from those of u with experience,which is the most lucrative vegetable to grow? i have like an acre that i can use to venture into farming. Life is what you make it !!! Just do it!
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 11/29/2007 Posts: 948
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People Mr Kariuki didn't turn up for the meeting. However,i am meeting another Farmer and i hope it all goes well. @ Kijana. How can we hook up for a one on one? Yes am a slow walker,but i never walk backwards.(anonymous)
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Rank: Member Joined: 6/7/2009 Posts: 9
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Great discussion,could someone share more information on Onion farming
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Rank: Member Joined: 3/4/2009 Posts: 13
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I'm a starter farmer,very interesting discussion,i logged into SK a bit late: anyway,i'm interested in knowing the crops to grow with a high turnover and maximum profits on 1 acre.....kindly assist (the short rains will be here with us soon)...
Mgema akisifiwa,itabidi umezidiwa....
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Rank: Member Joined: 5/27/2009 Posts: 8
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@ Stra & Wekaka
Onion farming is very lucrative but you need to do volumes to realise good returns! Your idea of doing 5 acres is quite good as long as you have enough labour to attend to the farm. Onion farming is easy coz other than weeding there is no much and deseases are minimal.
The best seed in the market is called Jambar F1 by Seminis which i have personally tried though on small scale. This seed is high breed and high yield and they say it can give you upto 24 tonnes per acrei well taken care of. The seed cost KShs 12,035 per Kg and you will require between a 1- 1.5kgs per acre. It takes a month in the nussery and between3-4months to mature. Timing is also important so that you get the best prices in the market! december market is normally very good. A
14 kg net goes upto KSh1,500 so you can do your maths on 1 acre!
@ Vicky Tah
Rain farming is very tricky because majority of the people rely on the rain to farm and when the rains are good there is always over supply hence prices dip or if the rains fail then the crop also fails!
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Rank: Elder Joined: 4/9/2008 Posts: 2,824
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@eli....say,can you share all this infor here please.....kingfisher.sk@gmail.com If you have money that you expect to start using in five years,it now belongs in stocks. When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/16/2007 Posts: 2,114
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@kijana,
The math is very serious indeed!What kind of soil is suitable for the onions and are you able to sell all your produce at maturity?Do you get a supply contract to say hotels,schools or do you just take the stuff to marigiti?
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Will u be mentor in farming!
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