NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 18 – While growing up, Lincoln Gachuki always loved to farm. He would tend his parents’ piece of land often.
Working at the farmstead equipped him with requisite farming skills that he did not know one-day would be helpful.
In the meantime, he would study hard to secure a white-collar job, like millions of young Kenyan adults.
While studying a Bachelor of Commerce (BCOM) at the Egerton University in Njoro, Nakuru, occupying a c-suite position was his utmost goal.
Luckily after graduating, Gachuki secured a job at the Barclays Bank of Kenya under the Outbound Portfolio Management Team.
At work, he never felt happy sitting down from morning to evening. He wanted something that would challenge him physically and mentally.
“Got tired of staying behind a desk and making calls. I quit to pursue my passion of tickling the soil,”
“The idea of being paid 12-times in 365-Days did not sit well with me,” Gachuki tells Capital Business.
So, in 2016, he left his banking role to pursue strawberry farming on a half an acre land in Nyahururu.
To start off, he injected Sh500, 000 into the project, which he used to buy farm inputs and machines as well as setup a greenhouse.
“The portion under strawberry is around 0.5 Acre. My whole land is 3.5 acres. Expanding slowly,” he says.
On the land, he plants two breeds of strawberries that include san andreas and chandler varieties.
However, there exist uncountable varieties of berries, including pajaro, aiko, fern, domail, Rabunda, douglas, among others.
Strawberry is a popular fruit around the globe with high consumption rate in China, US, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico and Germany. Product liking is also growing in Kenya.
The fruit was first grown in Northern Europe before finding its roots in Asia, America and Africa.
Berries, which mature fast, do well in deep, sandy loam soil rich in organic matters.
The farm produces around 100 punnets per day each selling at a wholesale price of Sh100, meaning Gachuki earns Sh10,000 per day.
“We supply supermarkets and several high-end groceries in Nyahururu. Have also got some clients from Nairobi,” he adds.
He is looking to tap into strawberry jam, Juice and Strawberry flavor value addition after ramping up production.
While strawberries are lucrative to grow, he warns that they are very perishable.
Other requirements include plenty of water, manure and a good feeding programme.
The plant is also susceptible to fog, wind, rain drops, high labour cost, little knowledge about the fruit, among other challenges.
“One should also be armed to protect this crop from birds who love them dearly,” he says.
