GARLIC

What you need

Estimates according to Gilad, an established garlic farmer in Kajiado county:

 350-400Kg of garlic cloves per acre

 Cloves cost Sh600-650 per Kg = approx. Sh200,000 per acre per season
 Fertilisers, pesticides, and labour – Sh100,000 (over more than three seasons)

Possible profits

 Harvest between 4,000– 10,000kg per acre

 Farmgate price – Sh150 – Sh250 per Kg
 Let’s say you harvest the lowest possible (4,000kg) and sell at Sh150 per Kg = Sh600,
000
 Profit Sh300, 000 in four months: 100 per cent profit

HASS AVOCADO

What you need

 Avocado seedlings – Sh100 per seedling

 Manure (from organic matter and animal waste)
 Labour (to do spraying, manure application and occasional watering) – approximately
Sh10, 000 per year.
 Harvesting, sorting and transport – approximately sh15, 000 per year
 The life span of a hass avocado tree is more than 50 years.
 Spacing can vary around 5m X 5m. This yields approximately 150 trees per acre.

Possible profits

 The tree starts producing three years after planting. In the first year about a tree produces
between 50 and 100 fruits annually. By year five production goes up to 400 fruits per tree
and 2,000 fruits by year 10.
 Farmgate price per avocado ranges between Sh8 and Sh30.
 Total revenue Year 1-3: Sh60,000 annually Year 4: Sh430,000 Year 5: Sh580,000 Year
10: Sh2.1 million

Avocado trees, he says, should be spaced 8 metres by 6 metres for best results. The seedling should be
planted in a hole measuring 2 feet by 2 feet.

DRAGON FRUIT
  Every erected post can take four dragon fruit cuttings; spaced at 2.5m by 2.5m. These can
accommodate anything between 1,800 and 2,000 plants per acre.
 A cutting costs anything between Sh200 and Sh500. For an acre, one would need Sh900,
000.
 One off-costs for setting up posts and trellis would be dependent on timber availability.
An acre of land can accommodate 450 to 500 posts. Mugambi spent Sh300 per post,
amounting to Sh120, 000. This is however a one-off cost.
 Labour: land preparation, pruning, watering, and harvesting, is also dependent on
location.

Possible profits

 Dragon fruit fruits in 2 to 3 waves during one season.

 Each pole normally yields approx. 10 to 40 kg of fruits. Each fruit weighs about 400 to
900 grams.
 Peak fruit production is usually from the 3rd year onwards and the average yield per acre
is 5–6 tonnes.
 Dragon fruits are sold locally at a retail price of Sh1, 000 to 2,500 per kilogram.
 The general farm gate price is approximately between Sh500 to 800 per kilogram.
 A general calculation of annual income for 1-acre plot may be calculated as follows:

One Acre x 450 poles x 10 kg (least) x Sh500 (minimum) = Sh2, 250,000 per acre per year.

BEEKEEPING

“Langstroth hives are the most ideal for professional honey production. They are easy to handle,
yield higher compared to other hives, are durable and easy to repair when damaged.

“Also, Langstroth hives guarantee higher frequency of production since combs are not crushed
and destroyed during honey extraction – which cuts the length of time between harvests,” she
says.

The other type of hive, common locally, is the Kenya Top Bar hive (KTBH). Unlike the
Langstroth, KTBH, Otila says, produces more wax than honey. Hence, for a beekeeper interested
in wax production, it would be the ideal choice.