This Is What Every Farmer’s Dream Is Made Of

Driving through a dusty road that occasionally branched off to expensive mansions, one could hardly believe that a green haven lay right ahead. For the area, being in the outskirts of Thika town and just a few meters from the Thika super highway, the most obvious investment that would cross any entrepreneur’s mind is definitely real estate.

However, this is where RealIPM, probably the largest farm in the region practicing pure organic farming is established. The farm occupies quite a sizable piece of land but it has all been put under intensive agriculture.

About 230 workers employed at the farm are pacing up and down in various sections of the farm, every one of them in a green apron and their tools of work. A lot is taking place here and I wish I could satisfactorily summarize everything in one article but that would be very selfish of me. So over the next few days, I will tell you about each of the extraordinary farming methods I saw at the farm.

The gunny bags farming method

As soon as I entered the gate, I couldn’t help but walk straight to a section of the farm on which were 20 large gunny bags with spinach and sukuma wiki growing on them. The plants growing on the sides of the bags and on top were so healthy and green that they formed a forest of vegetables.

But what really attracted me the most is the little space on which the forest of vegetables was growing on. On each of the bags, 100 plants were planted on the sides and a few more on the top. The 20 bags occupied a space of about 15 by 3 meters. Under the traditional farming method, this space would have been enough for at most 250 plants at a spacing of 30 by 60 cm. Now that same space was being used to grow over 2000 healthy plants!

Thinking along the lines of making money from agribusiness, I realized what an amazing solution this is to the people who have small plots of land and spaces in their backyards. There’s no reason why space should now limit you from making money from farming.

With this technology, you only need an eighth of an acre to produce more than what a farmer with an acre under traditional farming does.

And what’s more, you cut costs by a great margin. First, the cost of installing the drip irrigation system is drastically reduced; from that which is enough for an acre to that that is enough for just an eighth.

This system of farming also ensures that weeds are eradicated hence the cost of weeding is eliminated. The soil in the vertical bags is also prepared well before planting and mixed with animal manure. This produces very strong plants that are tolerant to diseases.

For all I know, this is no doubt the best farming system. Imagine being able to earn as much as a farmer with a whole acre from just an eighth!

Let’s make money: ukulima sasa.