Emma Onyango, a management practitioner, has successfully transformed her passion for agriculture into a prosperous enterprise.
She cultivates onions and watermelons in Migori and Ngong’, Kajiado County.
Despite the challenges of her profession, Onyango effectively manages to harmonize her responsibilities as a Human Resource consultant with her agricultural pursuits.
Her farming venture began some four years ago when she acquired five acres of land in Ngong’ to start her onion farming venture.
“I’ve always had a passion for farming, which I believe stems from my early upbringing in Limuru. I was born and brought up in Limuru where I went for my early education in both nursery and primary,” she said.
Onyango, who possesses more than 20 years of expertise in HR training, was inspired to pursue farming as a part-time career due to her early experiences.
“Growing up, when my mother was doing the planting, I was in charge of the irrigation every evening. In a family of nine children, I was the only one interested in farming
“During the holidays, I would visit my grandmothers in Kisumu and Migori. Whenever we went there, they were either harvesting or working on the farm. I was very active on the farm. These experiences ignited my desire to start this venture,” she added.
Prior to cultivating onions, Onyango experimented with maize; however, she discovered that it was not as satisfying as growing horticultural crops.
“I planted maize on one acre and got slightly less than 10 bags of 90kgs. Maize is not rewarding and the returns are low. So I decided to venture into onions and watermelon farming,” she explained.
In Migori, Onyango achieved a yield of four tonnes per acre, whereas her Ngong farm, where she cultivated two acres, produced five tonnes per acre.
Her initial onion harvest occurred in June from her five-acre farm located in Nyakwiri, within the Nyatike constituency.
Onyango harvested 8,000 kilograms and sold them at Ksh 150 per kilogram, while the Ngong farm produced an additional 10 tonnes (10,000 kilograms), which were sold at Ksh 100 per kilogram.
“By the time I was selling my produce from the Ngong’ farm, a kilo of onions was priced between Ksh 30 to Ksh 40 in the local market, but I was able to find a good market price for my produce,” she said.
Onyango intends to increase the size of her onion farming operations in Migori, where she has cultivated watermelon across six acres.
“I am thinking of increasing the acreage because we have a lot of water. We have been supported by the county government, but the resource has not been fully utilised,” she stated.
