Student ekes out a decent living from herbal farming

With learning institutions closed, Joseph Mwangi, a student at Egerton University, spends most of his time at his herbs farm. 

A pleasant smell of a cocktail of herbs welcomes you to his eight-acre herbs and vegetable farm in Njoro, Nakuru County.

“This is now my full time job, and it is quite rewarding. With proceeds from the farm, I am able to fund my Master’s degree and pay my bills,” Mwangi says.

Before venturing into herbal farming, Mwangi has tried his hand in potato and carrot farming, but was stopped due to lack of a stable market and fluctuating prices.

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For a constant supply of herbs, Mwangi has grown mint, sage, rosemary and thyme, in different stages.

"This way, I am assured of a harvest every season," says Mwangi, who went herbal in 2018 after he paid a visit to established farmers and agricultural specialists.

“I learnt that growing herbs is lucrative. Unlike other seasonal crops, herbs are perennial crops that are harvested at least for four continuous years after planting. They are on high demand because of their medicinal properties,” explains the farmer.

Market is a hard nut for most agri-prenuers to crack, but luckily for Mwangi, at the onset of the business, he was introduced to Ronny Exporters, an organisation that linked him to the export market in Asia and Europe.

To meet the exporters' big orders, Mwangi set aside a quarter of an acre to grow rosemary and later on expanded to 3 acres due to high demand of the herbs used as spices.

The export market has stringent rules on matters quality and to avoid rejection of their produce, the organisation walks with the farmer in land preparation, planting, weed control and harvesting.

Chemicals are also not used on the farm for either pest control or to boost yields.

"I do not use pesticides or fertiliser. To keep pests away, I do weeding regularly. I am also very keen on proper land preparation before planting the crop, including mulching, to maintain soil capillarity and moisture."

The main pests that attack his rosemary are aphids and white flies. He also has to deal with fungal diseases like root rot and powdery mildew.

Diseases to lookout for

Mint plants, he says, are mostly affected by wilt, mint rust and mint anthracnose disease, with insects like spider mites, cutworms, flea beetles and root borers.

“Farm cleanness is critical to keep off pests and diseases. I at times use traps to handle pests that attack the crop,” Mwangi explains.

The farmer grows his herbs organically to maintain their natural flavor. 

To harvest quality produce, weeding is done by hands to avoid tampering with roots. Weeding is done one week after planting.

It takes about 45 days for the herbs to mature, then they are harvested continuously for about four years.

“Harvesting is done keenly to avoid breaking and folding the leaves. Harvesting is also done with disinfected knives to avoid infections,” says Mwangi.

Cracked and broken strips are considered of poor quality.

The produce is later graded and sorted.

After grading, they are weighed and packaged in die cut boxes because of proper ventilation and maintenance of turgidity, ready for transportation.

In a month, the farmer produces 1,000kg of herbs per acre and sells each at between Sh300 and Sh400, depending on the demand.

 Officers from Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service and Horticultural Crops Development Authority visit the farm to teach him best farming practices.

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