Kakamega county is among the top 10 food crop and cash crop-producing counties in Kenya. The climate in Kakamega county is classified as a tropical climate with a lot of rain throughout the year from March to November. Among the crops grown here include; Sugarcane, maize, beans, ground nuts and vegetables ( kales, capsicum, spinach, tomatoes, and cabbage) cassava, soya beans, sweet potatoes, and cassava bananas just to name but a few. Maize meal is not only the staple food for the county but the entire country.
Maize
Maize farmers have been reaping a huge profit over the last two years. In 2022 for instance, 2 kilograms of maize (one tin) will be sold between 150-200. Those farmers who had harvested well the previous year had something to smile about.Â
Maize farming is done by most farmers as it is not costly. It needs one to have seeds, fertilizer and labour. Moreover, maize allows intercropping with beans and soya. This utilizes space and time. This crop is grown in all parts of Kakamega county.
Cassava
Cassava is another food crop grown in most parts of Kakamega county. Boiled cassava is a common breakfast menu in many households and hotels in Kakamega county. Those farmers who grow cassava get profits from their crops because it is not only loved by locals but also by people from other places outside Kakamega county. Most business people in Nairobi and Mombasa buy cassava for making cassava chips from Kakamega county.Â
Cassava takes 6 months to mature although we have agriculture-modified cassava that takes as less as 4 months to reach maturity. Cassava is planted from stem cuttings.Â
Cassava is sold in kilograms too and a kilogram costs between Ksh. 80- 130. Farmers who venture into large-scale production of cassava always profit from their produce.Â
All parts of Kakamega county favour the growth of this crop.
Beans
Beans are another profitable crop that when we'll take care of can bring one a lot of profits upon harvest. Beans can be planted together with maize as done by most farmers in Kakamega county or they can be planted separately.Â
Beans farming is the easiest as it does not require a lot of fertilizer compared to other crops such as maize and sugarcane. When mixed with maize, it utilizes the fertilizer applied to maize for its growth. When grown alone, it only requires fertilizer for planting and a little foliar fertilizer at the flowering stage.Â
Beans are a hotcake in Kakamega county as schools mainly buy them for student consumption. A tin of beans weighing 2 kilograms goes for ksh. 200- 300. Farmers who venture seriously into bean production always benefit in Kakamega county.Â
Beans can be grown in all parts of Kakamega county.
Sugarcane
Sugarcane is one of the cash crops grown in Kakamega county on a large scale. Many farmers grow cane because it does not require a lot of inputs compared to maize.Â
Sugarcane is important for its processed product; sugar is vital for its various uses. Apart from food security, sugar earns Kakamega county profit which it uses for its development. Farmers who grow sugar benefit from their products when they sell to processing companies. Some of the sugar processing companies in Kakamega county include; Butali sugar company, West Kenya Sugar Company, and Mumias Sugar company among others.Â
This crop does well in all parts of Kakamega county. Farmers had pulled out of sugarcane production due to some factors such as poor payment, late payment, lack of incentives, and brokers in almost all sectors of production among others. However, due to competition from the many sugar factories set up the price has gone up and all other challenges have been settled. The price which is vital for instance has been boosted. A tone goes for Ksh. 4500 and above.
Sugarcane is profitable mostly to farmers wh half an acre of land and above. It is also worth noting that sugarcane can be cropped with other crops such as maize and beans at its early stages of growth.Â
Like the other crops above, sugarcane does well in all parts of Kakamega county.
Bananas
Banana is one of the most important crops that a farmer who wants to get a profit should cultivate. All types of bananas grow well in the tropical Kakamega climate. Bananas are less costly to plant and produce since their seedlings are derived from suckers that multiply very fast. Moreover, it does well with or without fertilisers. Moreover Bananas are all-season crops that make you smile whether during a dry period or a rainy season.Â
Bananas can be sold when ripe or upon maturity for cooking. It is sold in kilograms just like cassava. A kilogram ram of banana goes between ksh. 60-100. Its market is available locally as well as outside Kakamega county.
Sweet Potatoes
Another important crop a farmer should not miss on his farm is sweet potatoes. Sweet potato is an important crop in Kakamega county as it is bread to most homesteads. You cannot easily miss sweet potatoes on both breakfast and lunch menus of most locals during the dry months of December to February. This means potatoes act as food security. This is the reason why one should cultivate sweet potatoes. It has a market mostly from November to February. Therefore, timely planting is a factor to consider. Most farmers do mixed cropping of sweet potatoes and maize. When almost harvesting maize in August, sweet potato beds are made in maize farms and potato vines are planted. Most potatoes mature in three months.Â
Vegetables
Kakamega county locals don't miss maize meals on their day menu which goes hand in hand with vegetables. Farmers who grow vegetables in Kakamega county get a lot of profit. Most of the vegetables mostly consumed include kale, spinach, onions, cabbages, cowpeas, and local varieties such as saga, sucha, and mrenda among others.Â
Kales fetch a lot of profits for farmers as they not only sell them to locals but also to institutions of learning and hotels.Â
Many other crops are grown in Kakamega county that are very profitable to locals; fruits such as passion, avocado, mangoes, paw paw and roots such as ginger and mukombero(a root that is believed to cure high blood pressure and clean blood. Locals believe that men who use it perform well in bed). Kakamega county is rich in fertile soils that support agriculture. The locals should venture into crop farming to profit from it and to benefit other people outside Kakamega county too.
Mukombero ni shina mulusungu? Please respond in ki Luhya. Any dialect is fine - naelewa zote.