By Prudence Minayo
Garlic is a spice that is in high demand in most family homes. Stanley Gichuki was hawking vegetables when he realized the magnitude of garlic’s value. This encouraged him to start growing the crops which provided him with a steady flow of income.
According to him, the demand for locally grown garlic soared following the pandemic. Before this, the farmer said most garlic was imported from China but with the lockdown, most got a taste of the local garlic which is much tastier. He said that the imported variety was also treated with chlorine to make it last longer and to whiten it. Their cloves are also treated preventing propagation.
Here is the Stanley Gichuki as by WoK.
Hawking and embarking on garlic farming
Stanley Gichuki is the proprietor of Saumu Enterprises. He completed high school in 2011 and then proceeded to hawk farm produce for a living. He realized that the available garlic could not satisfy the market demand. After identifying this need, he decided to grow garlic on a quarter piece of land.
The farmer’s preference for garlic is based on the fact that the spice can last for months without going bad. This makes it easier for farmers to determine the price. For example, when the price is too low, they can keep their produce until such a time when prices become favorable. The selling price also gives it a slight edge over other crops.
Garlic farming is a capital-intensive business. An acre of garlic will cost a farmer anything between Sh160,000 to Sh250,000. This price is determined by a variety of factors including the availability of water. According to Stanley, farmers should start small and learn about the crop before going large scale. Starting on a quarter piece of land, one can spend about Sh50,000. One of the most costly things in garlic farming is the price of seeds which cost upward of sh450 per kilogram. For a farmer to plant an acre, they need at least 200 kilograms of planting clove. Water is also key and there needs to be adequate labor. Nonetheless, purchasing mature quality seedlings may lower the cost of production. One is also less likely to find a diseased plant since most plants with diseases are removed at the nursery.
The steady growth of Stanley’s business is a product of hard work and no outside help. Apart from growing garlic on his farm, he has over one hundred out-growers. To meet the demand for the spice, he sources more garlic from the out-growers.
To equip others with knowledge, Stanley also educates farmers interested in growing garlic at a fee. He believes that many end up with losses because they do not understand the agronomics of growing garlic.
Garlic growing conditions
According to a 2021 article by Farmbizz Africa, Garlic can be grown in beds or basins with an acre piece of land comfortably accommodating 1400 to 1500 garlic planting basins, with each measuring 2m by 1m and having about 200 bulbs. The number of garlic plants per acre can be 280,000 with the expected yield being 14,000. The best soils for growing garlic are loam, clay, and red volcanic soils with the major nutrients being phosphorus, nitrogen, and calcium. Hence, one should first test the soil before deciding to grow the spice. They reach maturity rapidly in hot climates and do not do very well below 14°C.
