You can make juicier deals from pepino juice and wine

Sometime in 2015 when excitement brewed around pepino melons, David Wamatu seized the opportunity and was among the earliest cultivators of the fruit that was new among Kenyan farmers.

The fruit, said to have originated from South Africa was hyped as a wonder fruit mostly for its nutritional and medicinal qualities.

Testimonies were rife of diabetics, high blood pressure patients and others with heart-related complications who had found relief by consuming the fruit that was hailed for its richness in nutrients and ability to boost immunity. By 2016, a year after it gained popularity, the pepino melon was the most sought after fruit even by those who wanted to cut weight. A kilo of the fruit sold for Sh200.

Fast growing plant

And so, armed with 5 pieces of the plant from a friend, Mr Wamatu started propagating and selling the seedlings to farmers. This venture wasn’t a hurdle given that the plant bears fruit within four months of planting.

From his first batch of 50 seedlings, Mr Wamatu made Sh5, 000 after he sold each seedling at Sh100. He then plunged into growing plants of his own and started off with 1,200 pieces. 

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At first, returns from the fruits, harvested once every month were good. Mr Wamatu harvested up to one tonne of the fruits every week and he would sell each kilo at Sh100 to middlemen. When he took the harvest to the market, he sold each kilo at Sh200. Every week, he made up to Sh90,000.

But he says the juicy returns were short-lived.

“Trouble set in when people discovered that farming pepino melons was lucrative and everyone grew it. Within no time, the market was flooded,” says Mr Wamatu.

This, he says, has prompted the farmers to lower the prices of the once expensive fruit as it now sells for as low as Sh70 a kilo.

Further, the fact that finding market for the fruits which at the moment is only sold locally does not help farmers either.

Medicinal value

These were some of the grievances that the farmers expressed during last week’s exhibition that was hosted in Nyeri by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).

The farmers were thrilled to hear that a solution was underway for the losses they had started incurring while cultivating the fruit.

“As we speak, farmers are incurring heavy post-harvest losses when they can’t find ready market. That is why I have come up with simple methods to help farmers,” explains Prisca Muthoni, a researcher at JKUAT’s School of Food and Nutrition Sciences.

For a year, Ms Muthoni has been researching on the nutritional composition of the pepino melon under a project called ‘Utilisation of pepino melon in new products development’.

Benefits of the fruits

Under the supervision of Dr Everlyn Okoth, a lecturer in the department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Science, the student has been unearthing different ways that the pepino melon can be consumed to help farmers deal with post-harvest losses and reap even more benefits from the fruit.

She says the pepino melon’s medicinal value notwithstanding, the fruit’s consumption has declined.

“Not many people enjoy the taste of the pepino melon which is a blend of a cucumber and honeydew. We want to make products that can be appealing to consumers but at the same time retain the fruit’s nutritional composition,” Muthoni says.

And so, at JKUAT’s workshop, the 23-year-old together with other students are making a variety of pepino melon products including juices, jam, natural flavoured yoghurt and wine.

Where the price of a fresh pepino fruit continues to plunge, returns from value added products are juicy.

Five kilos of pepino fruits bought at Sh350 can be blended to make 30 250-ml jam bottles sold at Sh150. This translates to a profit of more than Sh4,000. A bottle of wine is more costly as it goes at Sh1, 000.

All the farmer needs to make, say jam, is a blender. Clean fruits are crushed in the blender to make pulp that is made into juice, jam or wine, according to the ingredients added.

Ingredients are basically sweeteners such as honey and sugar and citric acid. The mixture is cooked to concentrate at 75 degrees. It is from this concentrated substance that a variety of products are made.

“There is no further magic and there is no complicated technology. Just a simple blender and you are good to go,” says Muthoni.

According to Dr Okoth, the university has been running outreach programmes including shows in various counties to sensitise people about value addition on pepino melon.

“We want to let farmers know that the fruit can always be available all year round in the form of a variety of products,” says Dr Okoth.

Trainings

She says farmers have also been sensitised to participate in trainings at JKUAT where they will be taught about production and value addition.

“After the training, they will be organised into small processing units in their counties where they can process the value added products. We are also working through county governments and our external partners to create a thriving market for them locally and abroad,” she says.

The pepino melon are highly perishable and unlike other fruits that endure harsh transport conditions, it is difficult to handle overripe pepino melons.

“They get easily bruised when placed in crates and cartons. I’ve grown many fruits before but I have never seen a fruit that requires such extra care,” Mr Wamatu says.

More about pepinos

According to Wamatu who has been farming in Maragwa since 1986, the pepino is the hardest to handle especially when overripe since they develop bruises. Its skin is also sensitive to cold temperatures, making it easily develop dark spots.

The fruit is however hailed for its nutritional content.

“I call it the wonder fruit,” says Muthoni of the pepino melon which she says has a combination of nutrients and anti-oxidants and vital chemicals that help to fight diseases.

In the production of value-added products, every part of the fruit is used including its hardy skin, its golden yellow flesh and tiny seeds.

Pepino products have soluble fibre similar to oatmeal, which also helps to lower cholesterol. Its flesh and seeds are soluble fibres and they aid in digestion and boost immunity.

It has lots of vitamin A, C and K, B vitamins, protein, plus iron and copper, which are essential for a healthy immune system, and calcium for bones, potassium. Again, the fruit is sodium free and is great for blood pressure.

“At the moment, these medicinal benefits are only accessible seasonally. But they can be available on the shelves all year round if a little value was added to the fruits,” Muthoni says.