Catherine Mbili set aside her pharmacy certificate to cultivate drought-tolerant crops.
She stated that after sitting her certificate examinations, she didn’t have the money to complete her study, so she turned to farming.
Mbili adds that farming has always been her passion. She also required money to care for her two children, who are now 25 and 23 years old.
“Money is money. It is better to have some little money than none. I decided to grow drought tolerant crops and try my luck in value addition. I have no regrets,” she said.
Mbili is among the farmers in Makueini, Kitui and Taita Taveta counties who have switched from maize to drought-tolerant crops like as green grams, sorghum, groundnuts and millet.
This is thanks to the Accelerated Institutional and Food Systems project.
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid is implementing the scheme, which is supported by USAID/Feed the Future.
She is currently farming green grams, pigeon peas, sorghum and beans on two acres.
Mbili stated that during a big harvest and when prices are strong, a bag of green grams can cost between Ksh 7,000 and Ksh 8,000, while a bag of maize might fetch between Ksh 1,800 and Ksh 2,000.
“Growing maize in Ukambani is embarrassing because one has to wait for almost six months and you either harvest very little or nothing,” he said.
The mother of two makes birthday and wedding cakes from sorghum and pearl millet, selling them for between Ksh 1,200 and Ksh 1,500 per 1kg.
She also sells queen cakes and mandazis for Ksh 20 and Ksh 10 respectively.
“I have a shop where I sell queen cakes and mandazis but I make the cakes by order. In a good month, I make between Ksh 20,000 and Ksh 30,000 from pastries,” she said.
Mbili who also trains farmers says she also makes porridge which she sells to farmers during field days.
“I teach them the importance and benefits of growing drought tolerant crops,” she said.
According to the farmer, drought-tolerant crops thrive in Makueni since the climate is semi-arid and rains are infrequent.
She recommends farmers to embrace drought-tolerant crops and practice regenerative agriculture.
“There is a lot of wealth in the soil. When God created man, He put him in the garden because everything is found in the soil. I don’t understand why people idle around in the towns while one can make something from farming, especially if you follow good agricultural practices.
“If you do not want to do farming, you can do value addition which is a gold mine. You can buy from farmers, it is not a must you produce,” he said.
