By Arnold Ageta, DevReporter, Nyamira County
Pumpkin farming is ignored in Kenya compared to other cash crops like tea, coffee, bananas and maize.
But self-help groups in Nyamira’s Township Ward have succeeded in coming up with pumpkin value addition.
The groups process pumpkin and other crops to produce what the group members say is medicinal flour, which they then sell.
This process has been successful courtesy of Empowered Citizenry Against Poverty, a non-governmental organisation that is empowering the community through pumpkin farming.
Trainings
When Douglas Orutwa started pumpkin farming in West Mugirango constituency in Nyamira County five years ago, it was a dream come true.
“I started the project of pumpkin farming in 2017. I had always wished to start such projects for myself,” Orutwa said while smiling.
He adds that after benchmarking with Nkubu Community Based Organisation in Meru, he was encouraged to venture into pumpkin farming.
“I realised that people in Meru had been trained on pumpkin farming and there was an organisation which was doing pumpkin value addition in the area,” Orutwa recalls.
Benefits of pumpkins
Orutwa says when you plant one pumpkin seed it produces 100 pumpkins, the reason for his efforts to train more people from his community.
Speaking to Radio Baraza at his office in Nyamira town, he said that he started the farming by establishing and training self-help groups in the area.
He has trained approximately 1,500 farmers who belong to various self-help groups within West Mugirango constituency.
He has engaged the Nkubu Community Based Organisation to train farmers and provide market for their pumpkins.
Pumpkin sales
The organisation was buying pumpkins at 500 shillings each from farmers.
“There is one woman who took that initiative wholeheartedly and in her first harvest sold 80 pumpkins for Ksh 40,000,” Orutwa says happily as he swings in his office chair.
These pumpkin farmers formed Nyamira South Community Transforming Sacco which is fully registered and operates within West Mugirango constituency.
“The Sacco has grown and right now has about 300 members. These farmers are able to get loans from the Sacco at 1 percent interest rate,” Orutwa said.
Value addition
Orutwa said one group has started producing pumpkin products. Previously, they used to take their pumkins to Meru for value addition.
“One group, Compassionate Community Based Organisation, has started value addition of the pumpkins,” said Orutwa.
The group dries yams, bananas, pumpkin seeds, stinging nettle which they later take to a posho mill to make flour for sale.
The group’s secretary, Partrick Isaboke, says the pumpkins are first peeled and then cut into small pieces. They are then dried before being taken to the miller.
“We also cut yam leaves like vegetables and place them in these troughs to dry,” Isaboke adds while opening the solar drier troughs.
Challenges
Sabina Maoga, a beneficiary of the pumpkin empowerment says this year has been a bad one because of drought. Her pumpkins dried and the surviving ones produced few and smaller pumpkins.
Lazarus Momanyi who is the project manager of the group says the major challenge is inadequate solar driers.
The group’s products are also yet to receive certification and approval by Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and safety and health agencies.
A good feature, it shows how well our people are growing economically through agriculture.