The venture into tomato farming started on the
wrong footing for John Odero Jaoko. His brother
had undergone huge losses in his tomato
farming due to presence of bacterial wilt. Poor
quality water was also a major headache. But
Jaoko could not let the twin factors vanquish
both of them economically.
The Moi University Environmental Sciences
( Geography) graduate and now a Masters of
Science student at Maseno University did some
research on the wilt and got advice that would
enable him jumpstart the failed tomato
venture. It was not in vain.
"We now use dead soil which is found deeper
into the land and mix it in a ratio of one to
one. It does not harbor wilt," he explains.
Today, Jaoko rakes in more than Sh 80,000 a
month from the two greenhouses which stand
at his farm in Maseno.
The first season wasn't smooth due to the soil
and water challenge but now the farm is on
track of clocking more than Sh 100,000 per
month. A member of Mkulima Young
agribusiness family, Jaoko has managed to get
tips on how to improve his production as well as
find market.
The 28 year old farmer is able to pay his
masters degree at Maseno University fees with
much ease. "Agriculture is not for the
uneducated. I encourage young graduates to
take up Agribusiness. It is paying off well," says
Jaoko. Jaoko encourages those who want to
plant tomatoes in Nyanza to try and have them
between March and June.
"This is the high season. The returns are very
good," he says. Jaoko, is yet another example of
how a graduate can make money without the
pain of tarmacking for the elusive white collar
jobs.
original arricle appeared on mkulimayoung.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment