Former drug store owner strikes it rich with pawpaw
Howard Miriti inspects the Mountain pawpaw variety on his farm in Kathithi, Maua, Igembe Central. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL
Maua, a town in eastern Kenya is synonymous with the cultivation and sale of miraa, a stimulant that until recently was the top income earner for its residents.
A ban on the stimulant in major European countries, including Britain and the Netherlands, has however changed Maua’s fortunes, drying up the financial taps of the once busy town.
But for Howard Miriti, a 34-year-old who before the ban owned a chemist, this turn of events was a blessing in disguise.
After residents started feeling the financial sting of the embargo and their spending power was subsequently reduced, Mr Miriti made the decision to switch to another venture.
And so in March last year, he sold his two-year-old business and ploughed approximately Sh700,000 (from savings and proceeds of the buyout) into pawpaw farming.
Today, he cultivates approximately 6,000 plants on a four-acre piece of land he bought about 20 kilometres (km) from Maua, a business shift that has started paying off handsomely.
“I made my first harvest three weeks ago. Each week, I harvest between 500-600kg of the fruit,” Mr Miriti told Enterprise when we paid him a visit at his farm.
Middlemen
He planted the crops in phases and therefore harvests them as each batch matures.
Mr Miriti, who is also the personal assistant to Igembe North MP Joseph M’Eruaki, sells his harvest to middlemen at an average of Sh30 per kg.
This means that his first three harvests of about 1,800kgs have already earning him Sh54,000 in sales, returns which the farmer expects will increase as the rest of the crop matures.
“The crops will hit their peak in April when I expect to collect at least four kilos from each plant per month. I expect this collection to continue for two years before the plants’ productivity dips,” he said.
Struck gold
If his estimates come to pass, the budding farmer will be making Sh720,000 every month from the plants, a far cry from the Sh30,000 he used to earn from his drug store. With such projections, he said he had struck gold with the succulent fruits.
Mr Miriti has specialised in two pawpaw varieties - SP and Mountain – which perform well in hot and dry areas, an apt description of his farm’s climatic conditions. Pawpaw does well in warm climates as it provides the best environment for flowering and fruit setting.
The two varieties mature nine months after planting. He initially bought his seeds from Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari).
With time, he said, he will be able to identify specific pawpaw plants that produce superior fruits and harvest their seeds for planting in the next season. He was however quick to warn any prospective investor that over reliance on this technique of planting could weaken the plants.
The farmer is also considering to plant other cover crops such as water melons, chilies, and butternuts whose returns will help subsidise the operating costs in the farm.
Pawpaw farming is not labour-intensive, he said pointing out that the main activities on the farm are periodical monitoring, aimed at identifying diseases and pruning which is necessary to give the plants space for quality fruits.
His farm is located near a fresh water spring, where he pumps water to his crop every two days in case the rains fail.
The farmer advised that a 2 by 2 metres plant spacing is preferred as well as applying potassium fertiliser for improved sweetness and rich colour.
Mr Miriti has employed six workers to help take care of his crops, including a farm manager who he said has had prior experience in pawpaw farming. The five junior employees each earn Sh6,000 every month (food and accommodation are provided) while the farm manager goes home with Sh15,000 due to his expertise.
Mr Miriti said the pawpaws do not have a direct market, forcing farmers to rely on brokers who buy the fruits a low prices and add hefty markup on their end. A kilo can fetch up to Sh90 in the direct market, he said.
Specialised assistance
“I do not have to look for a market for my pawpaw since buyers are readily available,” he said.
“So far, three buyers have visited my farm to assess the fruits and are all competing to buy them.”
Mr Miriti cautioned prospective pawpaw farmers that they have to be careful about their source of manure, especially the type used during the planting season.
The manure, he said, may infect the seedlings with diseases, a fact which one can only identify if he has an experienced manager who can detect even a slight change in the plants.
He also advised that farmers engage the services of specialised extension officers who can offer even more specialised assistance in case the crops develop diseases.
Mr Miriti’s main challenge at the farm comes from an unlikely source – the nearby Meru National Park.
Baboons from the park descend on the farm on a daily basis, forcing workers to be ever alert especially at dusk and dawn, the animals’ preferred pawpaw feeding time.
