| As we sit down and wonder how we will get to work tomorrow with the current oil crisis, and also wonder even more on whether or not the we will have that loaf of bread tomorrow, there is even a bigger danger and crisis in waiting. One that will not only leave the millions in Rift Valley homeless but will, destroy and simply cripple our country basket of food! ........
A FARMER MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN MTITO ANDEI
Knowing the current dry spells and global warming taking place in the world, most people are trying their best to keep up and plant their own food so as to make ends meet.
This farmer in Mtito Andei is however going an extra mile to ensure that she has food crops both for her family and for sale throughout the year. Meet Mrs. Esther Munyao who practices organic farming and has an efficient farm manager who ensures that this remains true of her products. Water is pumped to the crops thrice a week and at times depending on the water demand even twice a day! The most interesting thing is that she operates from Nairobi, getting the latest technology and ideas and trying her best to implement in her shamba back at Mtito Andei. She spends on average 5000 on airtime just to ensure that her farm is ok and her crops are watered. She frequently travels home to ensure that the necessary things like generator fuel is available, organic fertilizer which she uses is properly mixed and dried for use in her farm. She not only practices organic fertilizer but also grows crops organically using the most natural nutrient additives and pesticides.
In general she has more than 500 apple mangoes trees, 250 of which are now set to produce this year, and more will be able to produce in 2009 and 2010 respectively. She also has more than 300 oranges trees and 50 are already producing some are being harvested. About 50 will be able to produce 2009 and the remaining 200 in 2010.
Currently she is growing a new variety of passion fruits around 1800 already producing though due to poor market she may do away with 800 in future. Marketing is a challenge for her since the passion fruits are new in the market and have not yet been accepted locally.
New in the Kenyan market would be the Roselle plant also known as Ribena plant which is famous in some parts of Africa for making the Roselle Juice which is a relative of the Ribena juice. The juice is very nutritious and is also medicinal. She has 50 of these plants and the first harvest is almost here.
She also has several pawpaw trees which are already being harvested and the pawpaw form her farm are something you would want to taste and have as they have a very high sugar content!
She also has an acre of tomatoes which are now ready and an acre of sukuma wiki.
With this kind of hard work and determination, I guess most farmers and wanna be farmers would learn from her and bring Kenya, Africa and the world at large from the current food crisis!
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