How Kenyans Benefit from Farmers Helping Farmers Projects

The development project initiated by Farmers Helping Farmers with the Muchui Womens Group was designed to bring new technologies in vegetable production to an area suffering from the lack of water. The Muchui business centre, constructed around a screenhouse (a greenhouse with a plastic roof and sides of screen), was designed to serve as a demonstration site where members of the group could come and see how new cultivars and production techniques could increase crop yields, and improve the lives of their families. One such technique is the production of climbing tomatoes in the screenhouse using drip irrigation. This method of watering plants delivers a small amount of water to the base of each plant enabling farmers to transplant tomatoes at any chosen time. This facilitates harvesting tomatoes in the off season when prices are higher, than field produced crops. Staffed by Muchui employees Salome Ntinyari and Martin Gikunda, this centre has become a place where not only members, but people from the entire region come to see new production methods.

A few months ago the Muchui business centre held an open house day and invited all people living in the district. The program was televised and presented by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and Citizen Television Stations. Some observers from Meru who did not come to the site, watched the program on their televisions at home and found it very interesting and contacted Martin and Salome for additional information. Some came to the centre to meet the staff and observe for themselves the screenhouse and production of tomatoes. One resident of Meru town, Mr and Mrs Muthee, came to the centre and received all the necessary details on requirements for greenhouse production of climbing tomatoes. Soon, a new greenhouse measuring 10 x 20 metres was being built at his home in Meru Town, large enough to hold 800 Anna F1 tomato plants. Using one water tank and collected rainwater distributed by drip irrigation, the tomatoes will mature in the off season beginning in next January when prices are at their highest.
The total building costs were close to 150,000 Kenyan shillings (about $2,500 CDN). With the current and projected price of tomatoes at maturity, the expected income for the entire crop will be from 120,000 to 180,000 shillings ($2,000 - $3,000 CDN). In addition to this income, the family will have tomatoes to eat until August 2009. By building a greenhouse that will last about ten years, Rose Muthee, just one of the seven local residents to adopt such technology, will have sufficient income to pay school fees for her daughter’s education. Thus the objective of extending the work of the Muchui Womens Group to all members of the community is becoming a reality. Winston.

Photo: Daughter, Ms Jane Gitonga standing in the tomatoes.