At Illumimum Greenhouses, we always recommend planting of high value crops. A high value crop is either vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs or spices with higher market value than the traditional crops. The cost of production of these crops tend to be low and yet they attract a high price in the market especially due to their scarceness hence good profit margins are achieved.

In Kenya, high-value crops include capsicum, cucumbers, tomatoes, jalapenos, strawberries, herbs, and spices. These crops tend to fetch more income rather than the regular kales, spinach, and cabbage at the market.

Once you have installed a greenhouse, move out of the ordinary ‘Sukuma wiki’ farming and consider high valued crops and fetch more income. The return on your investment will be assured. Tomatoes for instance when planted in a greenhouse, has more profits because the cost of production is low and when they are supplied at the market, they have very good prices.

The traditional practice of farming in greenhouses in Kenya, is most farmers tend to go for the regular vegetables like spinach and kales which in most cases do not have a “good” price at the market that is profitable. The supply of these vegetables is high at the market therefore the prices tend to go down. Some consumers of these products don’t even have to go to the market to get these items but rather just plant them in their kitchen gardens.

A majority of the farmers normally ask the question “How am I able to identify which high value crop to plant in my greenhouse?”

With us at Illuminum Greenhouses, our inhouse agronomist is able to advice on the suitable high value crop based on a soil test that is normally performed to determine the level of nutrients in the soil and will walk the journey with the farmer to a successful harvest.

Another question that most farmers ask is, “Where will I get the market for these high value crops?”

At Illuminum, we provide a market linkage for farmers. We ensure all the products get a market. High value crops also tend to be on high demand due to their scarce nature. For instance, in a local village somewhere in central Kenya, there will be more people selling cabbage and Sukuma wiki rather than cucumber and strawberries. Therefore, the few people who have the cucumbers and strawberries are assured of a sale because there will be high demand of these products and a low supply that also translates to a high price of the product.

Another concern by most farmers is,” Where do I get the seeds of these high value crops?”

This is simple, through our partnerships with various companies that offer seeds and our inhouse agronomic support, the farmer is guided on where to get these seeds that will guarantee high yields. Not forgetting, we shall walk the journey with you to ensure a successful harvest.

A smart farmer does not just set up a greenhouse, but also plants high-value crops and get maximum profits. Be a smart farmer and you could be the next supplier of strawberries in your local supermarket and even the 3-star hotel in your neighborhood.

There are certain questions that pop up when considering a greenhouse: What are the benefits of having a greenhouse? Is it expensive? Could I make good use of it? Do I have the space? You will get the answer to these questions when you build a greenhouse as you will see that it offers numerous benefits that you will always be thankful for.

Here is why you need to farm using a greenhouse;

Increased production

As compared to open field farming, with a greenhouse the farmer has more control for creating the optimal climatic conditions needed for a plant to grow. The farmer is also able to grow more plants per square feet compared to growing crops in the open field. Greenhouse farming is considered an implementation of intensive agriculture and can provide an increase in crop production

Minimize production risks

A greenhouse is an enclosed space; therefore, the crops are prevented from suffering damage from climate change related events such as sudden increases or drops in temperature as well as keeping the crops away from birds and other animals that may damage them.

Maximize profits

When implementing greenhouse farming the profits per crop per square feet can be even twice as much as the alternative open field agriculture. A greenhouse farmer can combine other practices and strategies such as the use of hydroponics for maximum crop yield. By utilizing resources in a more efficient manner, the farmer is able to create less waste, which in turn can translate into bigger profits.

Increased pests and diseases control

A well designed and optimally built greenhouse can prevent problems such as pests and weeds, as well as provide more control against other diseases. An enclosed space can be restricted to only the necessary personnel, and less people going in and out means a lesser risk of bringing unwanted elements close to the crops.

Ability to grow all year round produce, even in off season

With a greenhouse, the farmer does not need to depend on seasons to grow certain crops. They just need to provide the necessary means to create the right climate inside the greenhouse for the crops they need to grow. A greenhouse is independent to the world outside therefore eliminates the limitation of growing crops only on a specific season.

More stability and security

Since the greenhouse farmer does not depend on climatic conditions, an increase in stability and security is assured not only for the crops but also for the workers. Greenhouses ensure we have that constant food supply and therefore world is free from hunger and poverty.

A greenhouse requires you to make an initial investment, but the money you spend is well worth it in the long run. With so many benefits, you can see why owning a greenhouse is a great idea.

At Illuminum greenhouses, we assure you of a return in your investment with our Greenhouse Plus+.

Greenhouse plus + comes as a package of a greenhouse of your choice, irrigation kits, water tanks, agronomic support, market linkage and your investment on installing a greenhouse is assured.

We also offer the Farmshiled A.I powered sensors that guide the greenhouse farmer on the next steps during farming such as when to irrigate, when to evacuate humidity and when to ventilate the greenhouse. We remove guesswork off greenhouse farming for the best crop yield.

We endeavor to hold your hand all the way to crop harvesting and we ensure you smile during harvesting.

Have you been wondering on when to irrigate, evacuate humidity and ventilate your greenhouse for that successful harvest? Worry no more, with Farmshield™-A.I powered sensors installed at your greenhouse, you will receive an alert on your mobile phone on the next steps to take to ensure your crops thrive without guesswork.

Here is how it works:

We install two stand alone sensors we call the Farmspears into the ground. The Farmspear houses the following sensors and equipment:

1. Soil moisture sensor
2. Soil temperature sensor
3. Air humidity sensor
4. Air temperature sensor
5. Light intensity sensor
6. Water flow meter to monitor irrigation
7. NPK nutrient sensor (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium)
8. Solar panel and battery

The Farmspears then collects data on the state of the greenhouse and sends it to the Farmshield. The Farmshield is the brain of the farm, it takes in the data, interprets it and informs on the necessary actions to take such as:

1. Opening and closing of the irrigation system to let water flow into the farm.
2. Actuating the greenhouse fans to evacuate humidity incase the humidity sensors report high humidity levels
3. Opening and closing of the greenhouse side ventilation if the air temperature sensors reports high temperature levels.
4. Timely alerts on low or high levels of NPK in the soil.

All the data collected is stored on an inbuilt memory and is sent to the cloud where is it analyzed and displayed on our dashboard. The dashboard displays real time information of your farm and is accessible by our app, web portal or USSD.

The dashboard is a complete system that manages your Farmshield device like placing orders for farm inputs, ordering trucks to collect your harvest to raising invoices for payment by customers. Some of our farmers call it, “the complete farming management portal”

With just a click, the farmer can access information on irrigation and fertigation cycles, harvest cycles and even payment cycles opening up other advantages to farmers such as financing from lenders due to evidence of farming experience and income.

A majority of farmers do not have access to internet, in this regard, we have a USSD platform that farmers simply dial on their phones and access all their farming information.

Being a smart farmer means taking in new technologies such as the Farmshield™-AI powered sensors and all your steps are assured for that successful harvest.

Be a smart farmer by partnering with us!

We understand the seriousness that this situation places the very vulnerable smallholder farmers who rely on us to provide modern farming technologies affordably. Farmers rely on us to help power their livelihood, and we understand the responsibility that entails. Meeting that responsibility day in and day out, in any environment, is our primary focus. This enduring mission guides us as we closely monitor, assess and respond to this situation.

So what are we doing? We have slashed our products and services costs by 10%. This frees up more money for farmers to channel to other necessities during this time. Secondly, we are increasing extension services to further ensure all our farmers are producing at optimum. We know Kenya shall conquer this pandemic, however, we must ensure we continue to produce to feed our population staying at home. As our doctors go to work, police protect our streets and our leaders mobilise us to be responsible citizens, our farmers shall keep growing and we thank them for their dedication.

“We know that food is essential all year round, but in the face of a pandemic it’s critical that shelves remain stocked and supplies remain plentiful. That gives people confidence and courage and hope for the future.”

US Secretary of Agriculture: Sonny Perdue

Secondly, we have implemented a Work-from-Home Policy to our office team with meetings going virtual to ensure continuity of business. Our phone lines are up 24/7 with WhatsApp business chats implemented to allow any of our clients with queries to have realtime discussions with our team. Our field team have been trained on the importance of social distancing and constant sanitizing to minimise the risk of contacting the coronavirus.

These precautionary measures have been taken to limit the potential spread of the virus, to support our employees in this challenging time and to ensure we maintain our ability to serve you, our customer, for the long term.

We are committed to stay on course and continue to provide affordable farming technologies to farmers especially during this period where our farmers will require the most support that organisations can offer.

Please be safe and stay healthy.

The Goalkeepers initiative brings together a diverse and influential community of leaders and innovators committed to achieving the UN’s SDGs. We got nominated to attend Goalkeepers 2019 by someone who thinks we are doing amazing work to push for a better world. To this day, to be honest, we are not quite sure who did nominate our organisation to this event. (If you are reading this, Thank You! )

If there is one thing that came out clearly, is the fact that we have a long way in empowering our women and girls in order to address gender equality.

If you think about life as a journey, every single disadvantage makes the journey harder. Our path forward has been relatively clear of obstacles. For a girl born in the Sahel, one of the poorest regions in the world, getting to a healthy, productive life requires overcoming hurdle after hurdle after hurdle.

https://www.gatesfoundation.org/goalkeepers/report/2019-report/#ExaminingInequality

We talked about our own experiences here in Kenya, providing affordable greenhouses to farmers and connecting them to markets through our Greenhouse+ service that seeks to address SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 2: End Hunger. By connecting farmers to stable and reliable markets, we have been able to create consistent income for them paid out through MPESA or Banks every 30 days and now reduced this to 7 Days in 2020. The results have been clear to us, our farmers use this income to invest in education for their children as well as be able to afford universal healthcare at their local clinics. In other cases, especially for our middle-income farmers that build large greenhouses, they create employment to the local village workers who work as farm labourers every single day and on harvesting days, women are hired to harvest, clean, grade and pack for our team to collect and deliver to urban markets. This way, we provide clean and traceable produce to markets in Nairobi all year round. If we can move farmers to be less dependent on rainfall, farm quality inputs, access knowledge and information easily and access markets, then there will be no poverty in rural homes and hunger shall end.

This year, we are excited to take Greenhouse+ to a new high powered by data. By combining irrigation data and yield data, we believe we can create valuable information to farmers and lending institutions to use to credit score and finance farmers. Stay subscribed for our next blog on the new farm automation system we are developing here in Nairobi.

Lesson 1: Less is more!

Farmers have a lot of factors to consider when growing crops, what seeds to use? What fertilisers to apply? Do I irrigate in the morning or evening? How much water should I use? and the list goes on and on. We needed to lessen these questions so that they could grow more and increase their income. So, we decided to bring on board partners that would address each question a farmer would have across the value chain. From soil testing companies, to seed companies, to agronomists and even crop insurance companies all under 1 roof leaving our farmers to focus on purely what they love most which was crop husbandry.

Lesson 2: Weekly crop updates

We realized that visiting a farmer once a month to train them on how to grow inside a greenhouse was a long time and any recommendations given during this time were not quick to turn around the crop. We had to increase the number of visits so that we could be able to address any pests and diseases issues in time and avoid further damage. Even though some farmers received weekly visits, we had other farmers that only needed 1 visit every 2 weeks. The success was actually more visible on the bi weekly visits and allowed us to adopt this as the standard agronomic practice for all our farmers under the greenhouse plus+ program.

Lesson 3: Economies of Scale

Different farmers took different sizes of greenhouses from our Kadogo greenhouse 8M by 15M=120sq.m all the way to our Mzoefu Greenhouse 16M by 30M=480sq.m (almost the size of a basket ball pitch). In all these greenhouses, they all had fixed costs while some costs were variable and depended on the size of the greenhouse. Variable costs included seeds, fertilizers, chemicals and even water for irrigation. However, the fixed costs were labour salaries, agronomic visits and produce collection costs. Farmers with smaller greenhouses were using 1 person to take care of their greenhouse while farmers with even 2 units of the Mzoefu Greenhouse-16M by 30M were using the same 1 person. Salaries were the same but given that the production area was bigger on the second case, it allowed farmers with bigger units to enjoy a bigger pie. Agronomic visits were made 2 per month with each visit costing the same. Since this is taken as a consultancy, it has 1 cost not dependent on the growing area. The major disadvantage was the high capital costs of taking up the Mzoefu which costed 4 times the cost of the Kadogo. Our best performing size that was not too high for the farmer and at the same time the yield was significant to cover for the expenses was the Mwanzishi Greenhouse 8M by 30M. With an average of 33% return on investment per annum.

Lesson 3: Planting Cycles

Most of our farmers planted all their crops at the same time therefore when they went out of season, they did not have income to cushion them from monthly expenses such as salaries and utilities. For farmers that had taken more than one unit, we followed planting cycles by spacing the planting dates of each unit by up to 1 month which allowed them to have continuous harvests through out the entire year. The output of course would fluctuate but they were confident on having income spread out through out the growing cycle.

Lesson 4: Farming Records

As much as we had agronomists visiting these farms every two weeks, we needed to know what activities took place in the farm. We were able to note that farmers that had farming records had less occurrence of pests and diseases and their yield was much more. Identifying even causes of problems was easy as we could simply refer to the records for all information concerning the amount of water irrigated, the number of seeds planted, chemicals used and fertilizers applied. Farmers with records also found expansion easier as they had a point of reference for all their farming practice information. At the time of produce collection and payment reconciliation, it was also easy for the farmers to correct deliveries that our customers had complaints with. We hope to continue this practice to allow full traceability of our farms enabling the customers to get healthy foods.

Lesson 5: Management matters

We had farmers that succeeded and farmers that failed. When we did our root cause analysis to understand why failures occurred yet all farmers had the same agronomist, same seeds and same inputs, we realized that 87% of farmers failed because of poor crop management by the farm workers. We dug deeper and realized that the farm workers left to operate the greenhouses did not have any background or experience in agriculture. They were new to aspects of weeding, spraying and even irrigation. This made it difficult for them to implement recommendations given by the agronomists. In some cases, farm workers were spraying the wrong chemicals to the wrong plant causing more damage to the crops. For farms that had farm workers with experiences in farming, implementation of recommendations by the agronomist was excellent and this translated to greater yield.

Over the course of the implementation of greenhouse plus+, we have been able to deliver over 438 Tonnes of fresh produce from farms across Kenya to our customers both local and abroad. This access to the market has greatly helped our farmers who now can return their investment and continue growing their production sites in order to gradually increase their turnover.

We believe, by bringing on board all these partners needed on the value chain and connecting farmers to markets, we can increase income for farmers while ensuring we feed our growing urban population.

This product is currently available to all farmers in Kenya with plans to slowly roll out to East Africa.

We then slowly decided to listen to them and provide a solution because as a business, it is our role to adapt to our customer needs. However, we wanted to get it right from the beginning and so we applied to SPRING Accelerator a jointly funded business accelerator by DFID, USAID, Australian Aid and the Nike Foundation. In this program through design thinking developed possible solutions to these farmers that needed help on inputs and markets.

Several ideas were presented and had huge potential to be actual solutions but we had to select one and move forward with it. The only thing that we knew would ease the decision making was research and data. You know how they say in data we trust? Yes, that’s exactly where we were as a company. We needed data for us to determine which solution would work in the market.

Over 3 months we launched a research project across Kiambu County interviewing farmers on the problems they faced and the possible solutions we had for them and allowed them to choose what they felt would be a perfect fit solution. In the end, we analysed the data and almost all our farmers loved our idea called Greenhouse Plus+.

Here is why; Greenhouse Plus+ is a greenhouse plus inputs, agronomy support, crop insurance and market linkages all bundled in one cost leaving the farmer to focus on what they do best – production! Farmers wanted to focus on weeding, transplanting and tending their crops but not having to worry about who’s going to buy their products when it is ready. We went ahead and secured partnerships with vendors such as supermarkets, mama mboga and even schools where our farmers would then sell their harvests.

So, back to your question, do you want a return once you purchase a greenhouse? Well, Greenhouse Plus+ is the product for you. By partnering with seed companies such as Royal Seed Kenya; Agronomists from KALRO centres across Kenya, insurance companies such as UAP Insurance to protect you against adverse weather (We all know this year 2018 floods were a headache!), soil and water testing companies such as Crop Nutritional Laboratory Services-CROPNUTS, we have managed to provide you with a greatly de-risked investment option while ensuring you have the right skilled people to guide you during your production as we collect the harvests and issue you with payment.

We are confident with these new product offering as we believe it will create employment for many young Kenyans while ensuring we are a food secure country in a sustainable manner. Happy farming!

Simply keeping the greenhouse clean is not enough as some pests and diseases can be introduced through clothing or through physical touch. If gone unnoticed, these pesky little things can slowly cause irreparable damage to your investment.

What does greenhouse hygiene entail?

1. Use of protective clothing. This is not only important to your plants but also to you. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) includes a face mask, gloves, a coat/overalls and gumboots.Wearing PPE isn’t enough, one always has to ensure that they are clean. Employees should also use sanitize their hands before coming into contact with the crop. That means having a washing area near the entrances of the greenhouses.
2. Having a foot bath. A foot bath is a small area; can be a basin or a cemented area containing disinfectant where people can dip their boots in before/after getting in the greenhouse.
3. Clean tools. Always disinfect farming tools before and after use.
4. Keeping weeds at bay. A weed-free environment is the best way to ensure grow up strong and healthy. Not only are weeds a breeding ground for pests, but they also tap into the juicy nutrients, water, sunlight and space that are only meant for your crops.
5. General cleanliness. Removing debris from your crops. Debris might include crop residue and pruning remains. This debris usually become a perfect breeding ground for pests and diseases which might cause nasty infections to your plant. The debris should be collected and thrown away as far as possible or burnt.
6. Always treat any infected plant at first glance. Check the neighbouring plants too for any infection, if need be, treat them as a preventive measure to nip the infection before it spreads to the whole house. If the infected plant (s) don’t recover, its best to cut your losses and remove them.

Quick tips:

• Scouting regularly, if not daily, will ensure that any signs of pests and diseases are caught early.
• The greenhouses/areas with the infections should be worked on last in order to minimize the spread of pests/diseases to the healthy greenhouses/areas.

Although it doesn’t fall under greenhouse hygiene, it’s also best to minimize traffic inside the greenhouse. Minimize opening and closing of the greenhouse door to when tending to the crops so that pests don’t gain entry.

Maintaining a clean greenhouse is a cost-effective and stress-free way to minimize pests and pathogen infestations. Money and time that could have been used on pesticides can be allocated to other areas. Remember, prevention is better than cure.

Common vegetables and fruits exported from African countries to the European Union (EU) include;

Demand for dried fruits has been on the rise, the UK being the biggest importer. Common dried fruits include mangoes, apples, pistachio and grapes.

What has led to the increase in export crops over the last few years?

1.  Attractive prices in the export market; which is almost double what the local markets offer.
2. Consumers’ desire for diversity and awareness of health benefits from these crops in developed
   nations.
3. Adverse effects of the Greenhouse Effect in developed nations making the African continent a
   viable candidate for growing exotic horticultural produce.

[A table from the EPC showing export statistics since 2011 to 2015. Source from http://epckenya.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=62]

Did you know; In the 1990s, Kenya was the main supplier of fresh and chilled vegetables in the European Union?

One can either export crops through a company, what is known as Contract Farming or one can do it on their own. Good thing, The Export Promotion Company (EPC) has got us covered. For the lone rangers, the EPC has been kind enough to outline directions on how to become an exporter of horticultural
produce on this link;
Click Here

Starting on your own might be difficult especially the part where one has to source for clients in foreign countries, which leaves the option of contract farming. There are a number of companies here in Kenya dealing with contract farming; Illuminum Greenhouses being one of them.☺

Some of the benefits of Contract farming include;

• Assurance of markets to farmers. Lack of markets is one of the major reasons why investors shy
  away from the agricultural sector.
• Farmers’ price risk is often reduced as commodity prices are specified in advance.
• Contract farming opens up new markets which would otherwise be unavailable to small-scale
  farmers.
• Elimination of middlemen who have been known to exploit farmers.

Tips:
1. In contract farming, always insist on contracts. If need be, have a lawyer go through them to
ensure the authenticity of the transactions.
2. For the lone rangers, thorough research is required of the bodies involved in the Export business
and the regulations in place. A good place to start would be KEPHIS and audit firms such as DNV-GL that award Global GAP Certificates upon successful farm audits.

Happy Exporting!

Matters Seeds…

A seed is an embryonic plant encapsulated in a protective outer covering called a seed coat. Seeds can be grown in many ways; Small seeds must be placed on the surface of the seed-raising mix because if covered too thickly they might not germinate. For other seeds, it’s recommended that they are planted at twice the depth of the thickness of the seed itself.

Pros;

• For crops, such as beans, that are quick to germinate, one may consider starting from seeds.
• Seeds are much cheaper than seedlings.
• For those of us who like choices, starting from seed offers one an option of choosing between different varieties available in the market. Seedlings confine the farmer to the variety used by their provider.

Cons;

• Planting the seed directly is riskier, since the seeds have to put up with hazards such as adverse weather patterns, like drought or flood, high wind (for open-field farming), pests, and weeds. In order to be successful, one has to ensure that the environment in which the seeds are growing in, is conducive.

• The farmer also has to be prepared to thin the seedlings; that is, pulling out a few plants between the rows to make sure even spacing between the plants. Lack of spacing will result in crowded plants that will compete for light, water, and nutrients. Crowded plants have also been to be prone to diseases due to the lack of airflow.
• Seeds generally take a little longer to grow than seedlings. It’s good to note that there are some crops whose germination rate is slower than most plants even if you plant them as seedlings. It is because of the growth rate of the 2 that leads to the second difference; seeds are cheaper as compared seedlings.

Matters Seedlings…

A seedling is a young plant grown from a seed in a nursery.

Pros;

• Seedlings will give you a significant head start on the season, since their maturity rate will be shorter and will result in an earlier harvest.
• On the other hand, most seedlings will take a minimum of 2 weeks to germinate.
• Seedlings are more resistant to pests, because they are more mature and stronger when transplanted. Many pests love snacking on the tiny seedlings. Therefore, the risk of losing the plants is lower as compared to seeds.

Cons;

• Seedlings are definitely much more expensive to buy than raising your own from seed.
• With seedlings one is restricted to the variety grown by the supplier.
• Seedlings pose a threat of introducing weeds and/or diseases into your farm. It’s therefore important to get your seedlings from a certified company/producer to avoid such inconveniences.

All in all, the choice between the 2, Seeds or Seedlings, will come down to the farmer’s preference.