I put my bet on good old arrowroots

In 2014, before Martin Muto settled on his side hustle of choice — arrowroot farming — he did intense research.

“Like all young people, I was looking for a side hustle in farming but I did not know what exactly to settle for.

But after a lot of research, arrowroot farming seemed like the best option,” says the youthful farmer who has grown healthy arrowroots on a two and half acres farm in Kyeni North.

Back then, Muto who works at St John Ambulance, Embu and is the Agriculture Society of Kenya, Eastern region marketing and publicity chairman had his days fully occupied, but still yearned to put his land into productive use.

“In my duties at ASK, I had visited several arrowroots farmers and was convinced I could farm the crop even better than them.

As part of my research, I first visited Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation to acquire more skills on arrowroots farming. A soil test on my farm found it suitable for the crop,” he says.

He was also confident that market for arrowroots is huge due to many people’s awareness that the naturally grown tuber is a healthy alternative to wheat products.

He planted his first crop in 2014 assisted by an extension officer from Embu County department of agriculture and made his first harvest the same year.

Unlike other ventures, he says arrowroot farming is manageable and returns are almost guaranteed.

“Arrowroots farming is involving only during planting and the harvesting. After you plant, you only need to weed it. No chemical sprays or top dressing fertiliser is required. You then sit back and wait for it to mature just like a postdated cheque,” he explains.

He started with Sh20,000 capital where Sh10,000 went to buying 5,000 suckers at Sh2 each. The rest of the money went to labour. Muto farms the dasheen variety, which is common in Africa and South America.

HOW TO GROW IT

In planting, Muto says one digs holes with a diameter of one and half feet and a depth of one feet while observing a spacing of 20cm to 30cm.

“When closely spaced, the suckers produce small sized arrowroots but if you want bigger sized ones, you increase the spacing. I observe 20cm spacing so that I produce small and medium sized arrowroots as that is what my customers prefer. They say small-sized arrowroots are sweeter,” says Muto.

The next step involves placing the suckers inside a moist hole for a month to allow shoots to develop.

One then drains water from the hole. With four suckers in every hole, the farmer covers them with a little layer of soil and after about two weeks adds to the hole manure mixed with fertiliser.

“Unlike other crops where you plant using manure and fertiliser, for arrowroots you just use soil and add those nutrients later,” says Muto.

READY IN SIX MONTHS

The crop matures in six months. He says a farmer is able to tell a mature plant ready for harvesting when its leaves colour change from green to brownish. He advises that during growth, a farmer should ensure the crops are not water-logged as the tubers may rot. Conversely, the soil should not dry up completely but be moist.

Muto says a challenge that arrowroot farmers face is high soil acidity, which is exhibited through yellowing of leaves. This is treatable by adding wood ash at the base of the crop, or after harvesting avoiding the replanting the crop for the next season.

WHAT EXPERTS SAYS

Another challenge is during dry spells, especially for farmers who rely on seasonal rivers as the crop may dry up or produce tiny tubers.

Hellen Wanja, an agricultural extension officer in Embu, says arrowroots do well in sloppy, wetlands.

She says for big sized arrowroots, a farmer should observe a spacing of 30x30cm and for medium sized ones 20X30cm. She says the crop is rarely affected by pests and diseases while a potion measuring 10X10m can yield about 300kgs. She says the crop can be grown in even drier area provided a farmer has a source of water and seeks expert advice.

Muto who makes Sh300,000 from an acre of arrowroots considers it lucrative. From his farm, he says he harvests around 1,600kgs which he sells in 50kg bags at Sh10,000 each.

He has ready clientele from high end hotels in Nairobi and says he can barely satisfy the demand and consequently buys from farmers in the neighbourhood to meet the orders.