From Hawker to Farmer, Saumu Center

Mr. Moses Githaiga has come a long way. He was once a hawker selling garlic inside buses bound for Nakuru from Nyeri. He went from selling the garlic to planting it. This is after he would get frustrated from the regular shortage of garlic in the market. There were cartels that would plant in small quantities to keep prices high as the Asian community were the ones mostly interested in garlic.

He ventured into farming with a quarter acre which he harvested a tonne of garlic. He sold the produce at Kshs. 250 per kilo and has never looked back since. He still sells garlic but on a larger scale. He sells his own produce but also buys from other farmers to fill his ever growing orders. He sells to as far as Zambia.
He now has 3 acres which he plants garlic, last month he harvested 5.8 tonnes per acre. Once planted, garlic takes 4 months to mature. The garlic is planted directly from the cloves. A garlic bulb is split into cloves and dipped into an organic hormone to break dormancy so that it can germinate.

This extra work and costs of preparing the seed make it more expensive as a kilo of seed goes for Kshs. 400. He sells seed as well to farmers who want to venture into the production of garlic. He will also buy from them once they harvest. He sets aside 200kgs of garlic to prepare as seed for the next season.
He is the C.E.O of Saumu Center which is located in Kiawara in Laikipia County and has been farming garlic since 2014. He plants the African Giant variety. The local garlic is gaining popularity as it is larger and is not treated with Chlorine like the Chinese variety. The Chinese variety is dipped in chlorine to bleach it and make it look pure white.The local variety is purplish white in colour. The Chinese variety has even been banned in some countries.

The Chinese garlic is well trimmed at the roots since this is done by use of machine while the local variety is trimmed by hand using a knife. The local variety has a medicinal compound called Allacin which is more potent in the tropics. The demand for garlic worldwide has continued to increase.
The garlic stems withers when it’s ready for harvesting; that is around four months. To harvest, the soil is loosened gently with a hoe. After harvesting, the garlic bulbs are dried in the sun. It is graded into first, second and third grade depending on the bulb size. The biggest bulb is grade one and so on. It is then stored in aerated nets or bags inside an equally aerated store house.
It is best if the walls of the store are made from wood and mesh wire because stone walled houses tend to get damp which makes the garlic rot. Garlic is not affected by rodents or pests because of its pungent smell. They have a shelf life of 8-9 months so one can store them and wait for the prices to rise, but the store must be tightly secured. Saumu centre is 24 hours guarded.

Garlic is harder to farm as compared to onions because it is a heavy feeder. It requires more attention and more fertilizer. In terms of cost, the seeds are expensive, sold at Kshs. 400 per kilo. The total costs for planting garlic per acre is approximately Kshs. 160,000 compared to Kshs. 130,000 for onions approximately. It requires same labour, up to 10 workers per acre.
Garlic is adaptable to different types of soils and climate. It requires a P.H. level of 6.5. Before planting, it is best to do a soil test to find out what nutrients are missing in the soil and get advice on how to do soil correction. Its leaves are triangular a in shape while those of onions are circular and hollow in shape.

Before planting, treat the soil with well decomposed manure. The garlic cloves are then planted at 3 inches apart in a basin for irrigation. For drip irrigation, they are planted in raised ridges. After two months from planting topdressing is done. It is advisable to do crop rotation every 2 years to prevent the accumulation of diseases in the soil as well as to replenish the soil. They are sprayed weekly against thrips and leaf rust.