Growing pawpaws as a side hustle has turned out to be a blessing during the pandemic for Dennis Nguma, who is studying Agricultural and Applied Economics Masters in the department.
The Agricultural and Applied Economics Masters finalist in the department spends his time in his fruit farm in Mavindini,Makueni county.He opted to invest his Agricultural Economics knowledge and time wisely during this COVID-19 pandemic as colleges are on a break.Every morning, he goes round the farm scouting for pests and signs of diseases on the plants. He also checks if the drip lines are working and unblocks those that might be clogged. He convinced his father, Jonathan Muoki, to sink a farm pond in one corner of his farmland through a subsidised farm initiative by the county government, and allocate him a plot next to the reservoir.
It is from that pond that Nguma has created an elaborate drip irrigation system he acquired at Sh10,000 to grow the fruits.Nguma grows the Malkia F1 variety plants that he first farmed in a seedbed. He then transferred the seedlings into Zai pits measuring two-by-two feet and one foot depth after three months of staying in the nursery and covered the pits with mulch to minimise water loss.
Source:Daily Nation
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