Huge returns from coin by coin journey on acre plot

It is incredible what a one acre plot can do in the Coast region. For a group of 16 youthful farmers in Mombasa County, this piece of land has reduced poverty and promoted a sense of financial security.

Operating as the Muungano wa Wanavijiji Mwalupanga Group on a leased space belonging to Kipevu Primary School in Changamwe, the members have created employment for themselves.

According to group leader Walter Opanda, the project that started as a subsistence activity, with five garden sacks has grown into a big business as demand for vegetables surges.

“We deliberated on a suitable location where we could have more space and that’s how we approached the school, had a discussion with the board and they gave us permission to use this plot,” recounts Opanda.

Farming maize, eggplants, tomatoes and mkunde on their first trial, it soon became clear that the space had even bigger potential. Their initial harvest of tomatoes produced four crates which they sold at Sh1,700 each.

However, the group had planted uncertified tomato seeds. On the advice of the agriculture department and the local Kenya National Farmers Federation (Kenaff), the group was later on introduced to certified seeds and other farming techniques that have seen them make huge returns from the plot.

Following the experts’ advice, they sub-divided the plot into portions - allocating to each a particular crop on a rotating basis.

Now, the group registers sales of up to Sh900 daily from assorted vegetables and food products ranging from maize, cassava, eggplants, amaranth leaves, sweet potatoes, pepper and a string of indigenous vegetables.

 Fresh produce

They have no worries about getting their products to the market as their clients - locals from the neighbourhood - buy the fresh produce from the farm.

Recently, the group also started experimenting with agro-forestry after being introduced to the moringa tree by Kenya Forest Service officials.

A herbal medicine source whose leaves also serve as a vegetable, the few moringa trees enable the group to earn extra cash, selling the leaves in bunches of Sh20 and the powdered leaves at Sh100 per 50 grams sachet.

To make the most of the plot, they sell seedlings of casuariana, orange, mango, aloe vera, ashok and moringa — fetching an average of Sh100 per plant depending on the height.

From joblessness in 2012, the group has managed to save over Sh100,000 in net profit from the proceeds of the farm, in addition to the members benefiting from an internal savings and loaning scheme, where individuals can borrow loans of up to Sh10,000.

“At the moment, whenever I encounter an urgent financial problem, the group is there to offer me a loan and the good thing is that the money is a guarantee and the verification process is much faster compared to what I would have to go through with the financial institutions,” says Jackline Sayo, the group’s secretary.

She has also been able conduct side businesses such as selling second hand clothing and running a water tap, which she started using loan money from the group as capital.

 Loan interest

Higher incomes have enabled the group to start table banking, accumulating up to Sh12,000 monthly, which is then loaned out to a member on rotational basis and repaid with interest.

“My father died in 2012 at about the time we started this project and being the first born, I was left with four brothers who were attending university. I was by then jobless,” notes Opanda.

“It is through this activity that I have so far managed to see two of my brothers through their university education and the rest are still studying.”

“All that I have managed by taking loans which I have been able to pay comfortably and have the capacity to repay whatever loans I commit myself to at the moment,” relates Opanda.

During a recent visit to the farm by the Kenya National Farmers’ Federation County Coordinator Brenda Nteere, she acknowledged the group’s commitment and was impressed by how they had even managed to inspire pupils of Kipevu Primary School to start an agricultural club.

New technologies

“To boost food security at the family level, we are encouraging them to grow the venture by adopting new technologies like balcony gardens such that every member can have their own at home, and what they are producing as a group can be wholly commercialised to enhance their earnings further,” says Nteere.

The group has now applied for a Sh200,000 loan from the Uwezo Fund to diversify into poultry keeping, with a plan to raise and sell broiler chicken.

This will further improve their positioning for greater entrepreneurship mileage.

“We want to expand into poultry rearing given that the demand for meat is always high and we believe we will get even more returns,” says Opanda.

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