Farmers in Laikipia shift to pineapple farming

Laikipia farmers have been relying on maize and wheat as their main mode of farming, due to conditions favouring the two crops. Change in weather conditions has forced farmers to ventured into other crops including pineapple.

For the last two years, farmers in the region have reaped big from the fruit unlike those still practising maize and wheat farming. Mrs Naomi Ngunyi, got into pineapple farming after incurring losses with maize farming.

“I contacted an extension officer who advised me to venture into pineapple farming which I did on a quarter acre piece of land as a start,” she says. After the first harvest, six months later, Ms Ngunyi says had made Sh120,000 profit.

“I had never gotten such a huge amount of money and this was a big surprise. I decided to go full throttle into the pineapple sector.”

She converted her entire two-acre piece of land to pineapple fruits, which on average bring her over Sh800,000 per year in profit.

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The county government has enrolled pineapple farmers to contract farming programme where the county will seek market for them.

The main challenge such farmers face is destruction of crops by elephants and lack of water.

Last week, she says the animals trooped to her farm where they destroyed crops worth over Sh50,000.

Laikipia county government has promised to put up an electric fence around Marmanet forest.