The Coloured Story Of Capsicums

Neema Kahiga started farming Capsicums last June. The
romantic story was that she would return her investment of
Kes700000 within a season. Did that happen and what can
you learn from her?

As it is with all first-timers in agriculture, the excitement is
infectious, a ‘Cinderella’ story but the reality is more of a
“Cinderella Man” type-of-story. The Movies “Cinderella
Man” is the true story of an athlete who achieved his
greatest success against the most daunting odds of his life.

M-Farm captures the tailspin story of capsicum investment.
Neema set up her three greenhouses, hired a resident
farmhand and planted colored Capsicums starting last June.

The story she was given of capsicums was this green, giant,
glabrous leafy plant that produce bell-shaped fruits that are
selling like gold in the market.

This is the romantic story many farmers are sold. Neema
swallowed it hook, line and sinker. She invested heavily ready
to recoup her investment in one season.

It is January and the first season is out. So, has Neema
return her investment? Out of the first season, she has sold
a little less than a ton.

The average harvest from 8m by 15m greenhouse is between
120kg and 180kgs per week. M-Farm wholesale price of
colored Capsicum is Kes80/kg. This translates to an income
of between Kes9600 and Kes14400 a week. Capsicum is
harvested for six to eight weeks. By the end of the cycle,
the incomes would range between Kes57600 and Kes115200.

The average coast of one greenhouse, the 8m by 15m is
180000. Going by these income ranges, it takes at least two
seasons to return one’s investment.

For Neema, a first-time Capsicum farmer who invested in
three greenhouses at Kes700000 worth of greenhouses, it
was a learning process.

“There is a sense of loss”, says Neema after experiencing
the rough waters of farming capsicum and marketing them
in a market that is heavily meandered, “but I am going to
walk with M-Farm.”

At least her sweat of searching on the Internet for a buyer
paid off when, two weeks ago, she landed on M-Farm. She
made contacts with Linda, the co-founder and Marketing
Lead of M-Farm. She now has a market for the whole of
this season.

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