Hybrid bananas offer farmers new beginning

John Onyango, a former storekeeper at Kenya Wildlife Service inspects his banana farm. He has found success in banana farming. [Isaiah Gwengi, Standard]

At the farm christened 'Onyango Family Farm', farmers from other regions visit for tips on banana farming.

"With quality seeds, good soil and manure, one can harvest healthy bananas every season," he explains.

He says that the hybrid varieties have big bunches compared to the indigenous banana varieties and therefore fetch a lot of money.

The father of four, who runs the farm alongside other family members, says the hybrid banana variety will solve the problem of food insecurity and poverty in many households in the county.

According to his wife Emilly, who is in charge of finance and marketing at the farm, they earn an average of Sh1, 500 from a single stool per harvesting season, which translates to Sh3.4 million for 2, 300 stools on his farm.

"My work is basically to do market research in order to know whether we're making profits or not," she says, adding that they have been injecting the proceeds into other projects like sheep farming.

She adds that they started off with Sh500,000, which included land preparation, fertilizer, seeds and labour.

Jared Okoth, a technician at the farm explains that apart from the bananas, they are also making extra income from the sale of seeds (suckers) to other farmers.

"We sell the suckers at between Sh200 and Sh300 each. We also do planting for farmers who buy the seeds from us at Sh20 per tree," says Okoth, adding banana flowers nine months after planting, and is ready for harvest in 13 months after planting.

She advises farmers not to apply fertilizer when the plant is about to flower because fertilizer will be left in the soil and in the plant.

Though he says he has no regrets about having been employed, he says there is nothing to compare between the two, and would not quit farming for any job, citing constraints that come with employment.

He has managed to purchase more than six acres of land from the proceeds of the farming which he is using to diversify to other projects.

"Other than pests and banana diseases, the only challenge in this type of farming is the need for financial stability to address any emergency in the farm," says Onyango.