Paul Ruto is a mushroom farmer from Bomet County.
The former banker quit his job to focus on mushroom farming, which he now makes up to five times his salary from.
Ruto’s curiosity in mushroom cultivation led him to learn more about it, and he came to the conclusion that farming would bring in more money than his work in banking.
“After reading about mushroom farming on Facebook my friends and I formed a WhatsApp group on mushroom farming and learnt more about the changing technologies and advised one another,” he said.
Ruto, who has a Bachelor of Science degree from Moi University, was practicing dairy farming at the time, but the results were unsatisfactory.
“I first ventured into dairy farming to earn extra income but I realised that marketing milk was not easy and it was labour intensive,” he said.
Ruto trained in mushroom growing at the University of Eldoret before leaving his banking position.
He also mentioned that he received more instruction in Kakamega County.
“From Kakamega and with my small investment from dairy farming, I converted my dairy farmhouse into a mushroom farmhouse,” he said.
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Ruto built a farmhouse out of banana leaf trash, wheat straw, sawdust and sugar waste from companies.
“You can pick wheat straw at a cost of Ksh 2,000 per tonne and sugar dust waste at Ksh 1,000 per tonne, compare that with two kilos of maize certified seed at Ksh 600, the inputs for mushroom are cheap,” he shared.
However, Ruto explained that planting materials are expensive as the seedlings are bought in spores form.
“To start mushroom farming, one is required to have two houses for the harvest to be continuous as after planting one is required to harvest after 45 days and replant after three months,” he stated.
Despite the fact that Ruto owns approximately eight mushroom homes, he claims that the demand for mushrooms and mushroom products remains unmet.
“I started with one house but with only the first harvest the demand was overwhelming and I went for a soft loan to build two more mushroom houses to enable me to sustain my clients,” he explained.
Ruto sells his mushrooms in Kericho, Nyamira, Kisii, Narok and Bomet counties.
“I maintain that technology is wonderful since I don’t travel a lot to market my products, I use digital platforms to reach the market and use the same to get my money,” he said.
Ruto pushed young people to consider mushroom farming, but made it clear that he is not opposed to regular work.
“Employment is good for raising money to start off and also learning the skills you need for survival in business
“I challenge the youth to stop using the internet to look for inappropriate pictures and videos but as a means to change their lives,” he said.
