TWICE BEATEN, NEVER SHY: Young Farmer’s Tenacity, Perseverance and Patience to Learn Keeps Him Going Amidst Sabotage

When life throws lemons at you, you can duck them, keep asking where they came from or, you could make lemonade out of them. Larry Keya, a 27 year old farmer from Kisumu Ndogo estate in Eldoret, chose the latter.

Larry Keya responds to a client on Facebook 

Larry has been passionate about computers since he was a young boy and he wanted to study Computer Science at the university. Well, his Joint Admissions Board letter came with different news. His aggregate points were below the required for his dream course. He was admitted to study Agricultural Economics at Moi University.

The only way to study Computer Science while having been admitted for a different course was to study Agricultural Economics for a year, then go back to first year and start his Computer Science course. That meant wasting a whole year in campus. Larry decided to tough it out with the course that fate had handed him.

After completing his degree in Agricultural Economics, Larry promised himself to search for a job for only three months. If you have ever tarmacked, especially without tall relatives to push things for you, you know three months is an unrealistic ultimatum. He stuck to his deadline and dedicated three months in 2010 to applying for jobs, going for interviews and contacting third generation cousins and uncles for favours. You know the drill.

Three months down the line without a job, Larry decided to get into entrepreneurship. What better way to start than with what you know? He had gained interest in greenhouses while doing class projects in third year at the university. He tapped into that interest and decided to put up a green house on a hired piece of land in Eldoret in 2011.

Going through the learning curve

 A student plunged into the field of agriculture by the education system might not sound like your ideal agribusiness entrepreneur. Lack of passion might cast aspersions on his ability to weather tough times. Remember the 10 things to consider before getting into agribusiness I had written about? Larry got me thinking that perhaps life is not uni-faceted. You may lack passion on the onset but have a huge appetite for success and the patience to start small. This can yield passion later.

Larry had never farmed before. His only exposure to agriculture was through his university degree and the required attachments for the completion of the course. Yet, here he was, determined to be a successful greenhouse farmer.

Larry is a very patient farmer. He tells me that he has experimented every crop he has ever planted in a greenhouse.  And he has planted many a crop since 2011: eggplant, courgette, capsicum, tomatoes and cucumber.  “I try out each crop on a few rows first to learn the crop, it requirements, disease that attacks it, how to take care of it, harvesting, storage and market. After learning the crop on site and combining it with some research, I then make a decision to invest in it on large scale.”

The Keyas greenhouse

Currently, Larry has two greenhouses, 15 meters by 8 meters each under the Agri-Vijana loan from Youth Fund in Partnership with Amiran Kenya. He is very knowledgeable about the crops that he has in the two green houses: cucumbers and capsicums. During the interview, he very often gives me tips on cucumber farming: how to prune suckers, which variety is best and where to market. He has 500 plants of English cucumber that yield 125 kgs per week. He sells a kilogram at Ksh 80. He bought seedlings from Syngenta to ensure high quality produce.

Cucumber from the Keyas greenhouse

Larry started planting cucumber in 2012. He started with traditional cucumber. The yield was low and the market price was disappointing. He later learnt upon research that the price of English cucumber is double that of traditional cucumber in the market.

Market for a nouveau greenhouse farmer can be very challenging. At one point, Larry had to sell his produce on the roadside after a middle man insisted on buying a kg of courgette at Sh. 10. Larry advises that a new farmer should always work backwards; from the market to planting.

“The mistake that most new farmers do, is to plant a crop and wait for a market. The farmer gets frustrated when they need an urgent market for the ready produce. This vulnerability is what middle men cash in on. The farmer sells produce at a throw away price, while the middle man pockets the profit. Always identify a ready market before planting,” advises Larry.

The rough patch to success

Jackie and Larry Keya working in their greenhouse

It is always darkest before dawn. Larry and his wife Jackie Keya know this adage from experience. They are partners in the greenhouse business. They work together on the crops and market the produce together. They have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of agriculture.

Larry and his wife hired their first piece of land from a farmer in Eldoret. They put a greenhouse and planted tomatoes. The owner of the land later evicted them when he learnt what a profitable business greenhouse farming could be. The couple moved to another hired piece of land in Chep area, Eldoret. This deal seemed very fair since it came with greenhouses equivalent to 6, 15 by 8 greenhouses. There was adequate water and a working drip irrigation system.

The Keya’s toiled hard on the farm to rake in Ksh 5,000 a day. Unfortunately, they were forced to leave the land when the owner started to sabotage them by cutting off the water supply. Luckily, the Agri-Vijana loan that Larry had applied for was ready. This save the couple before they relocated to Nairobi.

Though the Keya’s had to start from zero with the Agri-Vijana Loan, they are back on their feet. Their first harvest cucumber was 125 kgs last week. This week they will harvest another 125 kgs. They are now making Sh. 10,000 from one green house. They are yet to document their weekly profit from the second greenhouse that has capsicum.