Going digital saved my arrowroot agribusiness

Before corona, Ciku Njeru was a full time student at Chuka University where she is a final year Bachelor of Education student. In her free time, she would don her other hat as a passionate arrowroot farmer at her parent’s Kinji Farm in Njukiini Ward, Kirinyaga County.

So passionate is she about arrow roots, she has earned the title Wanduma (arrowroot farmer), from locals. From the proceeds of her work, she caters for her upkeep and school fees. So when Covid-19 broke, she found a natural way to pass time and earn an extra coin.

With traditional food markets closed, she had to think of more radical and out-of-the box alternative sources of clients. She took to social media platforms- Facebook and WhatsApp- where she has found new clients.

Active on Facebook

Thanks to her aggressive networking and marketing skills, Ciku’s client base has not only enlarged but her earnings have also multiplied as she has eliminated the middlemen who previously exploited her.

“I started by taking photos of my farm and my tubers then posting on WhatsApp and Facebook groups.  Other than local clients, I also have customers who make orders and I send to them via courier companies,” she says.

She sells a kilogramme of the tubers at Sh70, whereas brokers offered Sh50. She has two acres under arrowroot of various stages, a quarter of the land leased in the neighbourhood. Everyday is a busy day for her as new orders keep coming.

“I collect orders for a week from Saturday to Wednesday. On Thursdays I plan farm work, that is, where to harvest, labour to hire depending on order, among other logistics. I harvest on Fridays and dispatch to my clients the same day,” she says.

So far, she has clients spreading across Embu, Mwea, Meru, Nyeri, Thika, Nairobi and Nanyuki.

Her mother is her biggest inspiration is her mother, a veteran farmer.

“I always admired how my mother was passionate about farming. When I saw that the crop was earning my mother some income yet did not demand a lot of inputs, I decided to give it a try.” 

Starting out was not hard for her as she obtained suckers and manure from her mother’s farm.

The rest as she says, was easy and manageable.

“Arrowroot farming is low cost. It does not require fertiliser or chemical sprays. You just add manure and water. Goat manure is best as it is easily absorbed by the suckers,” she says.

To net a regular income, she has divided her land into different portions and observes a schedule of planting suckers regularly so that every week she has a portion she is harvesting from.

For planting, she prepares land to ensure it is clear off weeds, digs holes and then plants suckers. This is followed by planting the suckers and after a month or so addition of manure.

“Weeding is done every three weeks. After six months, the leaves start turning brownish and yellowing, indication that the tubers are ready for harvest,” she says.

Main challenge

The main challenge with arrowroot is that they are water guzzlers. For her she has a permanent water source.

Too much rain also spoils the crop. Another challenge is a pest that bores into the tubers spoiling them. 

The poor road network from farm to the next tarmacked road poses another challenge when transporting her produce especially when she gets big orders.

Catherine Wanjiru, a casual employed by Ciku, lauds the young farmer’s ambition.

“She is an inspiration. She employs several youth week creating employment in this rural area where jobs are hard to come by,” says Wanjiku.