For 27-year-old David Muriuki, he knows luck does wonders when you least expect it.
Three months after graduating from a local university with a diploma in computer science, he landed his first job with a computer accessories firm located at the heart of the Nairobi Central Business District.
He loved his job, although he was earning just enough to push him for a few weeks. However, towards the end of the month, he had to fall back to online loan apps for “financial bailout”, something that kindled discontentment with his computer job.
This continued for one year until one evening when he accidentally bumped into a TV show that highlighted a group of youths from Lari, Kiambu County who were making a killing out of a spice farming venture.
“I watched this programme and realised I was not cut out for the city life. They are my age mates yet they are making triple what I make in three months,” offered Muriuki. “The obsession to turn to farming grew in me. After hours of looking back at what I have accomplished since graduating, I decided to go upcountry and do what my parents have been doing (farming) but, do it better.”
After this eye-opening session, he embarked on researching the best farming practices and consulted several people who have carved a niche in farming.
One thing stood out for him; the use of organic fertilizer was what many successful farmers had been recently using in their farming.
With his inheritance of a two-acre piece of land, he was upbeat that his farming income would be modest at the end of it all. With a little financial boost by his ageing father, he embarked on his newly found love and planted cabbages but made sure he incorporated the use of organic fertilizer – Evergrow.
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Surprisingly, his cabbages matured faster and appeared very healthy. “This was a success for me given that it was my first farming project. But I peg it on the best farming practices where I kicked out the use of manure and other conventional farming practices.”
Evergrow organic fertilizer is a high-quality, fully decomposed organic fertilizer that is quickly absorbed by the soil. It has a greater density and availability of nutrients compared to animal manure which is commonly used by farmers to improve soil fertility.
Sam Mugu, a soil scientist who has worked at the Sanergy trial farm - the manufacturers of Evergrow Organic Fertilizer - notes that crops planted using Evergrow Organic Fertilizer grow faster and are much healthier than those planted without it.
“Our core observation has been that crops planted using Evergrow and chemical fertilizer were ready for harvesting in 9 weeks instead of the normal 12-16 weeks after planting,” Observes the soil scientist.
Sam Mugu (l), a soil scientist who runs the Sanergy trial farm holds cabbages grown with Evergrow Organic Fertilizer. [Source: Saner.gy]
For Muriuki, farming has proven to be a rewarding employer because “you learn about the best farming practices, put it to action and the reward is fulfilment. It pays you well and you would never consider hunting for an office job once you begin."
Monicah Kamau, 41, no longer uses the conventional manure to improve soil fertility in her 5-acre piece of land in Nanyuki where she practices mixed farming with legumes, grains and vegetables being the most common plants in her farm.
"For the last two years, I have been using Evergrow Organic Fertilizer after referral by a friend who had used it. The experience of using it is simply rewarding. It is a testament that modern farming practices are more productive compared to our traditional farming practices,” she opines.
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