Welcome to the third edition of The African Agripreneur !The focus of this edition is High Value Alternative Crops for the African Agripreneur! We showcase 12 crops with great potential to enhance farming diversification and profitability. I trust that this will stimulate thinking and create new opportunities for your business.
We look forward to receive your comments, questions and feedback!
Maryna Muller – Co-Editor
“Now God, who provides seeds to the planter and bread for food, will also supply and even multiply your seeds for planting, and will increase the harvest of your generosity.” (2 Cor 9:10)
Edamame Beans – Celebrity Crop for Everyone!
Edamame – the bright green beans that hail from China and are considered a superfood because they are high in protein, low in fat and packed with amino acids – are set to make a splash in Africa as small-scale farmers plant them. This article tells you everything you need to know about growing Edamame and more:
Celebrity beans star as a new crop for emerging farmers
A Guide to Growing and Harvesting Edamame
Growing Edamame: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Edamame (Soybean)
Stevia is a sturdy green plant whose leaves contain a unique source of natural sweetness. It’s grown all over the world, and is fast becoming one of the most popular crops on the market as more food and drink manufacturers look to use stevia plant extract as a zero-calorie sweetener to reduce the amount of sugar in their products.
This article relates the story of the Kenyan farmer, Charles Langat success with the crop and profitable relationship supplying Coca-Cola.
“The potential for stevia to help with some of our income gaps is unmatched by any other crop,” says Charles.
The RESOURCES sectionprovides more information on the following:
The STEVIA Opportunity for South Africa Canegrowers (and beyond)
Afriplex: A pioneering project to develop a South African Stevia industry
Sesame is one of the oldest oilseed crop known to mankind for its seeds. The main reason for their popularity is that they have many health-promoting nutrients and elements. The world produces about 3 million tons of sesame seeds every year. Myanmar, India, China, Sudan, and Tanzania are the key producers accounting for 70% of the total production. The other major producing countries are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Chad and Uganda. This article provides a basic overview of sesame farming advantages and implications.
The RESOURCES section provides information on the following:
Sesame Farming in Africa: The little seeds with big potential
Sesame Production Manual for Small Scale Farmers
Growing Sesame (Complete Guide for Beginners)
SUNUP TV Video: Sesame Production and Weed Control READ MORE
MORINGA: An Amazing Tree of Life (and Health & Wealth)!
“The Most Nutritios Plant on Earth!”
The Moringa tree is one of the most incredible plants ever encountered. Moringa’s nutritional and medicinal properties have the potential to end malnutrition, starvation, as well as prevent and heal many diseases and maladies worldwide. Moringa is truly a miracle plant, and a divine gift for the nourishing and healing of man.
Moringa can be grown in the even the harshest and driest of soils, where barely anything else will grow. In fact, one of the nicknames of Moringa is “never die” due to its incredible ability to survive harsh weather and even drought.
The RESOURCES section contains the following:
Article: Moringa – Superfood for the Hungry
IDC Research Study: Growing And Agro-Processing Of Moringa Oleifera With Commercial Potential In South Africa
Newsflash: Farmvest Seals Moringa Contract, Seeks Partnership With Local Farmers And Private Sector
TREES FOR LIFE: The Moringa Tree (with additional resources)
Ginger is a warm climate plant. It can also be grown indoors in cool/temperate areas. Cultivating ginger is costly on all fronts: time, labour and water. But managed correctly the crop adds good cash flow to a farming business. This article gives an overview of the basic ginger production guidelines and requirements.
The RESOURCES section provides information on the following:
News Flash: South African Ginger Competes with Chinese Imports
ARTICLE: Ginger – A Challenging Crop but Worth the Effort
This article explains the basic process of mushroom production.
The RESOURCES section provides more information on the following:
Mushroom Growing Substrates, Commercial Production Facilities & more
Climate Controlled Mushroom Production Rooms / Refrigeration Equipment
Gourmet Mushroom Production Training & Publications
GRO-CYCLE Online Mushroom Cultivation Training
SUCCES STORY 1: Mushroom production tips from a Boland farmer
SUCCESS STORY 2: Oyster mushroom farming: an affordable start-up READ MORE
Marula – Africa’s ‘treasure tree’
A source of human nutrition in Africa for over 12,000 years, marula fruit is now famous as the source of one of South Africa’s most successful exports, a liqueur known as “Amarula Cream”. But the range of Marula products is increasing and recently the development of a range of skincare products based on marula pip oil has shown the extensive market potential of this indigenous African fruit. This article gives an overview of recent marula production and value-adding developments.
The RESOURCES section also includes the following:
SA Department of Agriculture Booklet: Marula Production Guidelines
ARTICLE: Marula nuts are growing SA’s rural entrepreneurs in a win-win partnership with scientists and conservationists
DFID MARULA POLICY REPORT: The Management, Use and Commercialisation of Marula: Policy Issues
“Egyptian garlic varieties can produce a yield of up to 6t/ ha, with the giant variety producing up to 12t/ha.”
Growing garlic is an incredibly rewarding experience, but it can also be frustrating. Garlic is a high-value horticultural crop in the onion family. Farmers are getting interested in growing garlic due to its reported high returns and the readily available local market, but there are some potential pitfalls to consider..
The RESOURCES section also contains the following:
Article: Growing Garlic – Golden Opportunity for SA Farmers
GARLIC GROWER’S MANUAL: Start Your own Garlic Business!
“The production practices vary from highly sophisticated commercial ventures in the western world to more traditional cropping practices in third world countries. Yields vary from about 400 kilograms to several tonnes per hectare depending on production system and production area.”
Groundnuts are a rich source of protein and edible oils and add nitrogen into the soil and can be grown in poor soils. They take a shorter time span in the farm and have a huge market in most African countries. The monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in groundnuts keep the heart-healthy… The RESOURCES section also includes the following:
ARC Groundnut Production: A Concise Guide
SA Department of Agriculture Production Guidelines – GROUNDNUTS
ARTICLE: Groundnut Farming in Nigeria: Step-by-Step Guide
Barley Growing Makes Hundreds of Kenyan Farmers a Happy Lot!
“One of the things that have boosted production is new grain varieties namely Grace and Aliciana, with the latter offering up to 2,200kg per acre.”
Mau Narok in Nakuru County in Kenia can best be described as a fertile swathe of land where all kinds of crops thrive – from carrots, potatoes and cabbages to tomatoes and onions. Barley growing has however also taken root in the region, driven by the ready market offered by East African Breweries Ltd (EABL).
Kimursoi Nkaiwatei is one of the farmers growing the crop that is used in making beer. He has been growing the crop for decades and selling it to EABL, with his experience encouraging many other people to embrace the crop.
“I started growing the crop while still a young man. By then most people were farming maize and wheat,” says Nkaiwatei, who currently grows the crop on 200 acres, has progressively increased the acreage over the years…
‘Let the rains come, amaranth will come up.’ This saying was common among the Agikuyu, especially during drought and famine.
“Amaranth was the vegetable of the poor. We used to look forward to it during a famine and when it finally grew in plenty, we fed it to the cows and threw the rest away.”
But the narrative is changing. More and more farmers are commercialising the vegetable, known for its hardiness to withstand harsh climatic conditions, pests and diseases and also its high nutritional content..
The RESOURCES section also includes the following:
SA Department of Agriculture Production Guidelines – Armaranthus
ARTICLE: Amaranth – an Aid to Eating and Staying Healthy during COVID-19
“Farmers have nicknamed the variety after the M-Pesa mobile money service because it offers quick cash due to its faster maturity”
Nestled on the outskirts of Kathonzweni in Makueni County, Kenya Paul Mutinda’s pigeon pea farm is eye-catching, thanks to his crop that is ready for harvest.
Mutinda says his farming fortunes changed considerably when he added pigeon pea farming to his portfolio in 2018 after a friend introduced him to this hardy crop. He however decided to approach the value chain differently:
“Rather than wait for the grains to dry, I trade in the green commodity and I don’t regret doing that. To succeed in agribusiness, you must carve your own niche.”
He starts harvesting at least 300 kilogrammes of the product daily or two tonnes weekly in March, loading the 50kg bags on a pickup truck and transporting them to customers in Email on the border of Kajiado and Makueni counties, where he sells a kilogramme at Sh50. Harvesting, which starts in March, continues until October…
