For the past seven years, Daniel Terer, 45, has been farming vegetables on approximately a quarter-acre plot in Tulwet Chuiyat Ward, Uasin Gishu County, to earn a living and supply local markets.

Every morning at 6am, he works alone as he has no extra money to hire other people to help him grow sukuma-wiki (kales), spinach, cabbage and tomatoes, choosing them over maize because they mature in six to eight weeks.

He uses farmyard manure to cut costs and relies on monthly visits from county agricultural officers for advice on soil testing, crop rotation, and hybrid seeds. The work isn’t easy. Input costs keep rising. A packet of hybrid tomato seeds now costs around Ksh300. Water is the biggest challenge during dry spells.

“Last season we had a long dry spell. I lost almost half of my tomatoes,” he recalls. Pests and expensive chemicals from some shops add to the strain.

The small-scale farmer’s resilience underscores the key role played by small-scale farming as the backbone of local food security and domestic supply chains. Even so, the small plot has changed his life.

“Now I can feed my family without buying vegetables. I can also take care of my other needs like paying medical bills and school fees,” he says.

The market is unpredictable. Terer sells his harvest at Kesses Market on Tuesday and Wednesday and sometimes to his neighbours.

When the rains are good, everyone has goods and prices fall. When drought hits, prices rise, but yields drop. A good season can bring him Ksh15,000, while a bad one barely covers costs. He credits the county agricultural office for training on soil testing, crop rotation and hybrid seeds, but hopes for more support with water tanks and affordable drip irrigation kits.

“If I had a small water tank and drip kit, I could double my production,” he explains.

Terer’s advice to youth and other middle-aged farmers is simple: start small. “Don’t wait for a big loan. Even a small plot can feed you if you manage it well. Farming is hard work, but it pays.”

In the next five years, with adequate support from government and other stakeholders, he hopes to have a greenhouse, a water tank, and enough output to supply schools in the ward. For now, he shows up at dawn, row by row, building his future on this quarter-acre in Tulwet Chuiyat.

In Uasin Gishu, during long rains season, March-April-May vegetables are low-priced as the weather provides favourable conditions for them to flourish.

Sukuma-wiki (collard greens) and spinach currently retail at Ksh20 to Ksh30 per kilogramme (or roughly Ksh10-15 per retail bunch). Cabbage prices are slightly higher as the harvest season is not yet ready currently traded at Ksh50 and Ksh70 per head. 

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Becklyne Cherono and Ekuwam Sylvester