From the newsroom to the farm

Journalist turned farmer Francis Ilahaka explains a point to scientist Sotero Bumagat  during the official  opening of his Urban Agriculture exhibition at French Culture Centre in Nairobi. PHOTO| HUGHOLIN KIMARO

What you need to know:

  • Kenya Times was his first employer, but he got laid off five years later.

  • It was while travelling for work, however, that his passion for agriculture was born.

  • He travelled to many countries, attending agricultural conferences in and outside Africa.

Francis Ilahaka Lusidu worked for twenty years as a journalist before calling it quits to try his hand at farming in the city.

Lusidu was a Standard Seven pupil when, to the delight of the villagers in Sabatia , his first article was published in a newspaper. They showered him with gifts.

This generous gesture by the villagers inspired him to exploit his writing talent fully.

After his secondary school studies and with the encouragement of his teachers, Lusida registered for journalism studies by correspondence for three years through the University of London’s School of Writing, majoring in Creative Writing and Editing.

Ilahaka holding sukuma wiki in his Nairobi garden. PHOTO| HUGHOLIN KIMARO

“While studying, I borrowed and seriously read newspapers like the Daily Nation, the Standard and the Kenya Times. They guided me a lot in my writing,” he says.

Kenya Times was his first employer, but he got laid off five years later.

It was while travelling for work, however, that his passion for agriculture was born.

He travelled to many countries, attending agricultural conferences in and outside Africa.

Ilahaka explains a point at his farm. PHOTO| HUGHOLIN KIMARO

MOTIVATED TO TRY FARMING

In 1987 he travelled to Iran to present his poems in a book fair. It was through connections he made there that he was able to attend more than 20 conferences mainly in agriculture, an area he focused on in his writing.

Lusida says he was also motivated into agriculture by Chief Mathayo Mwenesi, the father of a prominent lawyer and thespian, Steve Mwenesi.

According to Lusida, “The lawyer Steve Mwenesi’s wife, who is also a lawyer, taught me agriculture and made me like it.”

Ilahaka refers to his notebook in his farm. PHOTO| HUGHOLIN KIMARO

Lusida is now working on a booklet that will be used by farmers as a guide on chicken rearing, herbal plants, and general agriculture (especially on quality seed production).

As for his farming, Lusida has about a half an acre at the Railways Garden in Lang’ata where he grows sukuma wiki, njahi, several types of onions, beans, kunde, tomatoes, pumpkins, mnavu, saaga, nderema, and others.

He uses the proceeds from his products for his upkeep in the city. He promises to continue sharing his knowledge with his fellow Kenyans now that he is not in the newsroom.

He also plans to write booklets on farming that present useful information in an accessible format.