Hot chilli brings cheer to farmers in dry Mwala

What you need to know:

  • With support from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), the government undertook to rehabilitate the Kabaa irrigation scheme, which is now supporting 284 smallholder farming households in Mwala Sub-County, Machakos County.
  • With good management, the red hot pepper being trialed by farmers in Eastern Kenya can remain productive for three years after planting, and can be harvested twice a week.
  • However, chillies are shallow-rooted plants, and farmers are advised to put a layer of mulch to conserve soil moisture and to keep the soil temperatures even.

It is a dry countryside with scarce vegetation. It has little agricultural potential due to scarce rainfall. But with a little irrigation on very tiny pieces of land, farmers in Eastern Kenya have found a new cash-crop for export — red chilli pepper.

“We have done our research, and we can confirm that with just a little water, particularly from irrigation, red chili pepper can perform pretty well in such semi-arid areas,” Joseph Mwanga, the technical manager at Kandia Fresh Produce Suppliers – which exports fresh farm produce to the overseas market — told the Seeds of Gold.

With support from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), the government undertook to rehabilitate the Kabaa irrigation scheme, which is now supporting 284 smallholder farming households in Mwala Sub-County, Machakos County.

It was due to the success of the irrigation project that Kandia Fresh Produce Suppliers decided to try out chilli farming in the area.
Josephine Kioko was one of the farmers enrolled for the trial. “I planted chilli on a quarter acre piece of land two years ago. But after it matured, the small experimental project now seems to be a real goldmine,” she says.

The farmers sell the chilli directly to the Kandia Fresh Produce Suppliers, which sends it abroad, particularly to the UK and the Netherlands.
“We assist the farmers, right from land preparation, crop management, harvesting, to post-harvest handling,” says Mwanga. “Such commitment to good agronomic practices and continuous training of farmers has propelled us to Europgap Certification,” he says.

With Sh80 per kilo of chilli to the export market, and Sh70 to the local market, Kioko says the deal is worth investing in. “I didn’t believe it the first month when I picked approximately 30kg of pepper twice every week, and later received a cheque of Sh19,200 that month,” she says.

For the past two years, Kioko says she has been earning an average of Sh25,000 every month from both the export and the local market.

Kandia Fresh Produce Suppliers supply the chilli seed to all the farmers they work with. “We give them seed in order to sustain acceptable quality for the fragile export market, and also because the seed is very expensive, costing about Sh40,000 to Sh70,000 per kilo,” said Mwanga.

PRODUCTIVITY

With good management, the red hot pepper being trialed by farmers in Eastern Kenya can remain productive for three years after planting, and can be harvested twice a week.

And given good agronomic practices, Mwanga says, one acre of land can produce up to 300kg twice a week. With the prevailing prices, the same will earn the farmer an average of Sh24,000 per picking, which translates to Sh48,000 per week.

“We have not been able to satisfy the export market for the hot chilli pepper because we do not receive enough supplies from farmers, probably because they do not know the potential agro-business opportunity of the crop,” said Mwanga. “That is why we are now working in collaboration with farmers’ groups all over the country to upscale its production,” he said.

The biggest market for the red hot chilli pepper is Europe and the Far East.

In general, red chilli pepper requires full sun and moisture with a pH of 5.5 to 6.8, which is an optimum range for most crops in Kenya, including maize. The advantage is that chilli grows very well with limited amounts of water.

However, chillies are shallow-rooted plants, and farmers are advised to put a layer of mulch to conserve soil moisture and to keep the soil temperatures even.

Experts warn against the use of fertiliser that contains high amounts of nitrogen because they cause the plant to produce lots of leaves and less pepper. Compost manure is most preferred for the crop.

“When we receive the chilli from farmers, we grade it accordingly, depending out our customer specification. We also discard some that are malformed, and ensure that the maturity level is at least 75 percent,” said Hillary Odhiambo of the Kandia Fresh Produce Suppliers.

Kioko is in the process of increasing her acreage to at least two acres.

To keep the standards in check, the Ethical Trade Services keep monitoring the farmers to ensure that they use the right chemicals, the permitted farm inputs and ensure that the rights of the farmers are upheld while dealing with export traders.

“We are happy to see farmers benefit from this irrigation scheme, and I hope many more will join in to generate more income for their families and for the entire country,” said James Kariuki, the Sub County Agricultural Officer – Mwala Sub-County.