Love for small-scale farmers makes man resist lucrative offers from investors

As he was busy supervising workers carry away barley harvested by a combine harvester at his farm to a waiting truck at Mwisho wa Lami in Mau Narok last April, David Waiganjo received unusual visitors.

He was approached by five Chinese investors who wanted to lease the entire 4,000-acre Muthera Farm and were willing to give him more than Sh300 million for the five-year lease period.

The investors got a rude shock when, surprisingly, Mr Waiganjo flatly turned down their offer. It was not the first time Mr Waiganjo had turned down such lucrative offers from investors eyeing the farm.

Another group of Chinese investors had earlier on approached him with an offer to lease the land at Sh600 million. The investors intended to establish a motorcycle and bicycle construction factory to cater for the needs of the fast-growing Nakuru. A rider, though, was that those on the land should be moved for security purposes.

“After thinking about their offer, I declined as I thought about the plight of the more than 5,000 smallholder farmers and thousands of workers who depend on my farm for a living,” said Mr Waiganjo.

Over time, Mr Waiganjo has learnt to turn down very lucrative offers from local and foreign investors eager to lease or buy portions of his farm for hundreds of millions of shillings.

He is one of the few remaining large-scale farmers in the once thriving agricultural county who has resisted the lure of taking advantage of the many investors looking for huge chunks to put up factories, gated communities or even high-rise buildings to cater for the needs of the fast growing county.

The farmer, who has planted 300 acres of wheat, 100 acres of barley and 50 acres each of peas, potatoes and carrots, says the more than 5,000 farmers who have leased the land earn themselves hundreds of millions annually.

“An acre of potato gives 80 bags per acre, wheat or barley yields up to 30 bags per acre while carrots give up to 100 bags per acre,” says Mr Waiganjo.

At the same time, he says that about 40-50 per cent of the fresh produce such as peas, carrots and potatoes sold at Wakulima markets in Nakuru and Nairobi are grown at Muthera Farm.

Carrots from the farm are now finding their way to Uganda and Tanzania as farmers are now exporting the produce to the neighbouring countries earning millions of shillings. However, this is set to change if the allure of subdividing large-scale farms into small plots is not checked.

Already, the image of the rich agricultural land in Nakuru that is famous for production of wheat, barley and maize is fast fading into oblivion as large-scale farmers subdivide their land into commercial plots.

A multi-billion-shilling gated estate for home owners is coming up at the expansive Gingalili farm owned by former President Mwai Kibaki, who is disposing of the land.

Some 600 acres of the expansive farm, situated in Bahati area in Nakuru North, are being sold to private developers who are buying an eighth of a plot at Sh1.5 million.

The shrinking large-scale farms may affect food security in Nakuru. The county is largely regarded as the second food basket in the country after the North Rift region.

The hundreds of acres of wheat land that were visible as one drives along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway in Rongai, Sachang’wan areas have been replaced by a jungle of concrete.

In 2015 Kenya’s wheat imports hit Sh36 billion, representing 5.3 per cent jump from Sh34 billion in 2014 and Sh30 billion a year earlier, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

BAD SITUATION

According to the Nakuru County Executive Committee member in charge of Agriculture Stanley Chepkwony, the situation on the ground is bad.

“The multi-million-shilling wheat silos in Industrial Area are empty most of the year as we are not growing enough wheat as we used to do in the 1980s and 1990s,” said Dr Chepkwony.

“As a county we are discouraging the subdivision of the large-scale farms as there is a danger of the county and the country at large facing serious food insecurity,” said Dr Chepkwony.

He said the county, through the lands department, is working out on regulations to discourage the subdivision of large-scale farms. The assembly has passed a Bill that will see large- scale farmers wishing to subdivide their farms into small plots pay up to Sh500,000 tax.

However, Governor Kinuthia Mbugua has not assented the Bill into law. Apart from contributing to food security, Muthera Farm has largely contributed to the economy of Mwisho wa Lami trading centre.

“This popular trading centre has been kept alive by Muthera Farm as farmers who have leased the land use it as their trading centre and its economy would have collapsed long time ago if I had leased it to a single investor,” said Mr Waiganjo.

Ms Esther Chege, 55, from Miharati in Nyandarua County who has leased 24 acres, says she plants four acres of potatoes and the rest she has grown peas.

“I started with one acre but today I am able to lease 24 acres and when I harvest 300 bags of potatoes in one season and sell them, I am able to pay my lease fees of Sh240,000 annually,” said Ms Chege who has leased the land for the last three years.

She said that from the earnings at Muthera Farm she has been able to purchase two acres of land in Miharati and a residential plot at Mau Narok trading centre. She says a bag of potatoes goes for between Sh1,800 and Sh2,000 at the farm gate while peas goes for Sh70 per kilo.

LEASED LAND

“Last season I harvested 3,000 kg of peas which earned me Sh210,000,” says the mother-of-five.

Another farmer, Mr David Wango, has leased 50 acres of land and is growing carrots, barley and potatoes.

“An acre of carrot can yield between 80-100 bags and when I take them to Wakulima market I earn between Sh300,000 and Sh500,000,” says Mr Wango.

Muthera Farm neighbours other large-scale farms such as Njenga Kahuru, Gashembe farms, Waweru farm, Sekuta farm and Gatumbi farm and top personalities including former Cabinet Minister Simeon Nyachae.

However, unlike the management of Muthera Farm which has leased the farm to smallholder farmers from half an acre to 200 acres, these other large- scale farms are not leased.

Mr Waiganjo urges the county government to post extension officers to the farm to assist farmers. He also called on the county government to upgrade the bad road network at the farm.

“The county government earns millions of shillings through cess tax from produce grown at Muthera Farm and therefore farmers deserve to enjoy good infrastructure to ensure there is food in the country,” said Mr Waiganjo.