in Kinangop, there are two types of bag. small bag (kamucuko) and big one. (the one that is approx 160kg(extended)). Please clarify which one you say.

current prices are BAD !!! . Kuna overproduction and the market is not able to consume more regardless of how low the prices go.
Around feb/march, the big bag was going for around 4000, the same has steadily gone down to 1000.

In kinangop, current production per acre is between 15 and 40 Big bags per acre,

Production is affected by alot,
whether you applied fertilizer or manure or both
whether you tilled the land well and in good time.
Whether you applied dawa well and in good time,
natural factors: including excess rain is the one of the worst and most unexpected, you'll see your produce disappear as you watch
Excess cold (baa) is bad for potatoes. These places can be chilly and even ice falls and this affects waru badly,

Also, while looking for land, please note that different soil colour affects the colour of your waru and hence the marketability .
there is the ashy type (kimuhu), its not favoured
and we have the dark (almost reddish) soil, its best in kinangop (toney).
Production is not different but their prices differ.
For example, current market price(at the shamba) for kimuhu big gunia is 1000, while for toney you can bargain 1200.

Also, the type of seed matters alot , but in kinangop the ‘sangi’ variety is almost default.
In other areas you might find other varieties like tana (white) and the red variety.

Most areas in kinangop that aren’t too far inside are renting the shambas at 15k per year and some are charging even more .
If you plan to do large scale, i would recommended areas are mau narok,
Land there is cheap at like 7k per acre
Production is better
You are likely to have large tracts of land unutilized as opposed to kinangop where its hard to find even 3 unitilized acreas

hey all. am planning to start potato farming on my 7 acre land in this area, and from the comments av seen about the prices am disappointed. for those who have been in this farming business please advise what else one can plant and get good returns, and can i plant red onions in this area coz i heard they have a beautiful returns. please advise

The potato business is best if you are the middle man. Connect the farmers to the market especially long distance like Kinangop - Mombasa. If you can get a good " FH " hire or otherwise you will be smiling all day. (Take time and study who benefits in the waru business)
There's this tendency with farming that you get a huge loss for the first three harvest and are always encouraged by "veterans" to push on. Ati will one day "recover" all your losses. It may never happen. Ignore the ideas on timing. Its almost impossible as weather in most of these area is quite unpredictable, and harsh at times. The risk is quite high.
With good transport, you can easily buy from the farmers and when getting back from soko, carry some "maasai" manure for them.
Word of caution though: Start the business when the produce is scarce.
Wish you well.
p/s Remember to share the success story.

Now Njung'e... let's revive this discussion. How is it going so far? I am planning to start farming.

House team digs into theft of seeds


I'm not so sure what these "effective policies" would be. It seems to me that when a crop is "regulated", the farmers suffer. For some reason, crops with "well" established regulatory framework (Maize, Sugar, Tea, Coffee etc) attract corrupt deals which cost the farmer.

@Mozenrat,
Nope buddy.Sorry but i hope you find help.

@Incognito,
Didn't see your post until now (I spend half of my life in the gutter section ).Sorry for the belated answer.I would say fair although the last water fed crop was hit by frost bite on the nite of the first day of this year with devastating effects.

I was also interested in trying this out. Still is. But was caught between farming & playing middle man.
I will share the story of how it goes once I set myself up.
Thanking the contributors.

I have actually been doing both Potato and Cabbage farming for the last 3 years or so... replacing one with the other after harvesting and once in while throwing in Peas but I have to say I'm ready to quit Potatoes. I find it so difficult to make money.. Mara frost hits you just weeks to harvest time and you end up with bean sized potatoes ama there is a bumper harvest in Molo and it messes up all the prices.. Yet I've consistently made some good cash on Cabbages rain or drought...

someone selling agricultural land in nyahururu at 500 k an acre,kindly advise, take it or leave it