Phyllis Manyange sorts out sugar snap peas for export at Geta Village in Trans-Nzoia County. The crop is fast growing and popular wth farmers in the mostly maize-growing area. PHOTO | ELIZABETH OJINA | NMG
Geta Youth Group grows legumes such as sugar snap peas, snow peas and French beans for export.
A kilo of sugar snap peas goes for Sh40, the group pockets about Sh22,000 per harvest.
Dressed in an orange blouse and black skirt, Phyllis Manyange sorts and grades sugar snap peas, a legume that is fast becoming popular among farmers in Trans Nzoia County.
Once the peas are sorted, she weighs and packs them in bags ready for transportation to Nairobi for export.
Ms Manyange is a member of Geta Youth Group that grows legumes such as sugar snap peas, snow peas and French beans for export.
The group has 10 members— four men and six women. “We have collection points for the produce. Today we collected 560 kilogrammes of sugar snap peas. We have weekly harvests on Mondays and Fridays,” she says.
A kilo of sugar snap peas goes for Sh40, the group pockets about Sh22,000 per harvest.
They sell the produce to Messina Flowers Limited based in Nairobi which has contracted them to grow the legume.
Geta Youth Group members got training on growing the products in 2016. They acquired 10 kilogrammes of sugar snap peas worth Sh6,000 for their first planting season in December 2016.
They then leased a one- acre piece of land by a stream since the crops need a lot of water to produce good yield.
“A farmer needs about 10 kilogrammes of sugar snap per acre. Once the land is well prepared the seeds are planted directly in the land. Use manure for best results,” says Ms Manyange.
That first season was not a happy one for Geta Youth Group. The drought that hit the country took a toll on their crops, leading to a leaner harvest when February came around.
“We didn’t get good yield for the first weeks of the harvest. Nevertheless we were motivated by the returns we got the first season of planting,” says Ms Manyange
In addition to making use of their shared, leased one-acre piece of land, each member of the youth group also plants the legumes individually on their own farms during the rainy seasons.
Recommended spacing for growing the crops is 7 to 10cm between plants and 75cm between the rows. Watering after sowing should be done twice daily and germination takes between five to seven days.
“We apply 10kg of DAP fertiliser, followed by seven kilogrammes of NPK fertiliser for top dressing after the plant germinates,” says the young farmer. Geta Youth Group started in 2013 with rabbit-keeping and maize farming. However, market for the animals was a great challenge that pushed the group into legume farming for export.
But they soon realised that sugar snap peas and snow peas are more profitable than rabbit- keeping and maize farming.
John Rono, a member of the group, says legume matures faster and fetches higher prices than maize which is more popular in the area.
“Sugar snap and snow peas take three months to mature, meaning we can plant the legume for three seasons in a year unlike maize which needs two seasons,” said Mr Rono.
He says the sugar snap and snow peas have a higher demand during the months of May and September.
“We grow the crop throughout the year to supply the export market. We plant them at different intervals and harvest on weekly basis,” says Mr Rono. But growing the crop is not all rosy as farmers have to contend with white flies and aphids.
“One needs to spray the crops in time to avoid attack by pests and diseases. We do frequent scouting of the field to look out for aphids and other plant diseases,” says Mr Rono.
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