Category: An Idiots Guide to Farming in Kenya

Hello there! How are you?

I meant to write sooner, but things got in the way. By things I mean my day job… Not that I’m complaining (just in case my boss reads this).

In my last post I talked about the new direction we took in developing our farm. This post continues in that trajectory, and today we’ll be taking about SOIL! Talking about the components, importance, and, the benefits of GOOD soil would take an entire book and then some, so I’ll try to keep it brief. 

In a nutshell, soil is composed of:

1.  Three primary particles- sand, clay, silt;
2. Mineral components- that come from rocks;
3. Organic matter which is the remains of dead plants and animals;
4. Air, and, water. 

After the elements have combined they arrange themselves to form the soil structure– which affects air and water movement through the soil, thus influencing the soils ability to sustain life and perform other functions like support buildings, build roads etc.

The soil texture is the ratio of the different particles of soil and, in my opinion the most important thing for any farmer to know regarding her/his soil. The soil texture tells you what ratio of clay/sand/silt/organic components/minerals you have in your soil thus giving you an idea of what your soil can support, and, what you need to add to it to improve its functionality.

Knowing how much sand/silt/clay you have in your soil is really important. If you have too much sand in your soil farming may not be the best option-perhaps you could add more organic matter to and clay to improve it. Then again, having too much clay is not good either because you will end up with water logged soils and half-dead plants 🙁

So how do you know what really lies beneath? …Easy… test it! In Kenya, the Kenya Agricultural and Research Organisation (KALRO) formerly and dearly known by many as KARI offers this service (and many other services) to budding farmers like you. All you have to do is get a soil sample and send it off to them for analysis. Now, the hard part… how to get a soil sample… Here are a few easy steps to follow:

*Tools you will need: A shovel, clean plastic bags, masking tape and a marker pen to label the plastic bags. *

1. Make sure the soil to be sampled is as uniform as possible- i.e. make sure it kind of looks the same. Don’t mix gravel and red soil and call it one and the same.
2. The sample area should be an area where you expect to grow the same thing i.e. if you plan on growing maize and strawberries in different areas of the farm, collect samples for the different things you plan on growing. Or, clearly state what kind of crops you plan on growing in the form you will submit along with your samples. 
3. Collect samples from various places in your farm to get a good representation of your soil. To make it easier walk in a zigzag pattern as you collect samples. 
4. When you are collecting soil, push the shovel at an angle to a depth of 10 inches, do that on the opposite side to make a triangle. 
5. Collect the soil (about 125g-one big palm/ two small palms) and place it in labelled sealable plastic bags. For more information please check here, here and here. 
6. Do not include roots and other plant material in the sample. 

Once you have done this you can send your sample to the KALRO office, or, your local Ministry of Agriculture extension officer can assist you on how to get it to the KALRO or any government testing offices. If you don’t want to go that route, there are private companies like AgriQ-quest that offer independent soil sampling services. 

When we did our soil sampling we did it through KALRO-then it was known as KARI. This was the result for one of our samples.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and, you found it useful.
See you next time!
The Kenyan Farmer

FYI: Sand is the largest particle found in soils. Sand particles have the largest air spaces, thus water can drain very easily.Clay is the smallest particle found in soil with very very small spaces between particles. Air and water do not easily pass through clay.Silt particles are bigger than sand, but, bigger than clay. This is usually the median between clay and sand. Water has the ability to drain through, but not as fast as it would in sandy soils and not as slow as clay soils.
To give you an idea the diagram below shows you the sizes of particles relative to each other. 

Image found here.

Hello there!

How are you? Please accept my apologies for the silence… I decided to get into the “real world” and get a “real job”. I didn’t stop farming… That is still going on albeit a little differently. In brief… The onions we started out with failed… and they failed miserably. The weather conditions were not suitable…someone should have told us that you plant onions in the short-rains season (September-November), not, the long rains season (April-July).  We were able to sell some produce, but most of it was not suitable for the markets. 
Special thanks to all our friends and family who bore through the sogginess of those onions and exclaimed that those were the best onions they’d ever tasted!
In July 2013, after the interesting encounter with the onions, it was time to switch gears, think bigger, long-term… in short, be more strategic… Cue in my family…
Using our networks…we searched high and low for a suitable solution. We had all this land, and we didn’t know what to with it… well we didn’t know how to make it profitable. After one of the many meetings we had where we poured out our frustrations to the other party, a simple suggestion was offered to become a contract farmer. Immediately, we began looking up what the term meant and what that would look like on our farm. It was at that time that we learnt about farms and companies like Triple A growers, Kenya Horticultural Exporters, Everest Enterprises and a host of others. We also had the opportunity to visit contract farms and learn about the processes, successes and challenges involved.

During one of the visits to an out-grower we learnt about the intricacies involved in setting up your farm and getting the right company to offer technical advice, and buy your produce. Soon after the visit, in September 2013, we decided to become contract farmers. Thus, the process began of getting our land ready and “commercially viable”.
In my next post, I’ll be looking at all the steps we took to get ready. To be honest, 1 year later… it still feels like we are getting ready, but, I’ll share what we have done so far.

Thanks for reading!

The  Kenyan Farmer 

FYI: A contract farm/out-grower scheme can be defined as a contractual partnership between growers or landholders and a company for the production of commercial forest/agricultural products. Out-grower schemes or partnerships vary considerably in the extent to which inputs, costs, risks and benefits are shared between growers/landholders and companies. Partnerships may be short or long-term (e.g 40 years), and may offer growers only financial benefits or a wider range of benefits. Also, growers may act individually or as a group in partnership with a company and use private or communal land. Out-grower schemes are usually prescribed in formal contracts. (FAO)Through various multilateral and bilateral agreements with European nations and other international organisations, Kenya has used horticulture as an avenue towards increased economic growth and revenue earnings thus, making horticulture a very lucrative venture for small holder farmers. 

Deciding that you want to farm is a pretty big decision. Farming is a really big deal. I know its not one of those “out-there” professions, but it is the essence of life. We all need our daily bread for sustenance, and what better way to get closer to the source than farming.
After you have made the decision, and received smiles and the oh-my-goodness-I’m-so-proud –of-you-but-I-could-never-do-it talks, the real work begins.
From this post going forward we will begin talking about the necessary procedures to follow to successfully set up your farm.

Get Reading and Get Dirty!

The Kenyan Farmer

I decided to start serious farming in April 2013. I use the word serious because, prior to that I had some pet projects and ideas that simply stayed as they were. In March 2013, things shifted within me. I think you may call it an epiphany of sorts. I decided to begin commercial farming on our little piece of land in Upcountry Kenya.

With the tremendous support of my family, the process began. We decided to start with onions, after doing massive amounts of research, and discovering that onions are pretty easy to start with for a first time farmer.
Thus the process began of seedbed preparation, land tilling, top dressing, transplanting, and so on. During this process, we engaged with local upcountry farmers and we began to share on our experiences- well in total honesty we were asking…. And how do you plant this again? How do you apply pesticides again? What’s the ratio of fertiliser again? From their answers I could tell that these guys knew more than any book or website I had read, but, things were not adding up.

As a nineties kid, I have had the privilege of leaning everything via Google. Therefore, during the research phase of this farming project I was able to come across very useful and insightful information. Donors, NGO’s, Governments, and other institutions continuously release information on agriculture. What is even better, this information is very relevant, practical, and easily replicated. However, there seemed to be a disconnect with the data. The information wasn’t fluid and it would take ages to piece together processes, methods, guidelines, laws, regulations,and, others- which was a very frustrating process. For example donors would release information on planting potatoes, but the Kenya Seed Company would have information on the type of potato seed to use, and m-farm would give you details on the prices of potatoes for the week.

Thus An Idiots Guide to Farming in Kenya was born. This blog aims to synthesise data on agriculture and eventually be the go-to-guide first time farmers like my self. The information posted here will be recent and most importantly systematic, so that we all GROW!

Thank you for reading this! Lets get growing!
The Kenyan Farmer

Welcome to an Idiots Guide to Farming in Kenya. This blog has been started as a way to help farmers like myself navigate through the process of starting your farm from the ground up-literally!

Here’s to an adventure of learning, and most importantly growing!

The Kenyan Farmer