Strong demand for aromatic herbs is currently being undersupplied in Kenya, opening an opportunity for farmers in arid and semi arid areas, according to commercial herb buyers.
Herbs such as sage, lavender and marjoram all thrive with minimum rainfall, said Grace Mbuthia, Horticulture Officer at the Horticulture Crops Development Authority (HCDA). “They require rainfall of about 600 to 700 millimeter per year and the farmer only has to target the onset of rainy season when planting,” she said.
Josephine Nasimiyu, also of the HCDA, said the over emphasis on vegetables has over the years led to a negligence of aromatic herbs, which are easy to farm and can do well in harsh conditions.
“Herbs are an orphaned crop, neglected by even the stakeholders. We won’t advice all farmers to abandon what they are doing and start farming herbs, but if any farmer farms it, it’s rewarding,” she said.
In addition to the scant need for rainfall, herbs do not need any kind of pesticide spraying and mature after only 2 months.
“Herbs are a domesticated crop and their wild nature makes them withstand harsh conditions,” said Nasimiyu.
“Most of the herbs have medicinal value and also can be used as spices,” said nasimiyu. They also have other uses.
“A herb like Lavendor is an insect repellant and that is a very important, it makes it a multipurpose plant,” said Grace.
To promote the herbs, the HCDA has dedicated stands at shows to herb farming and distributed guidance documents to farmers. “Currently, herbs are being farmed in bits and pieces and we want to improve the situation,” said Nasimiyu.
Tropical Heat is one of the companies processing herbs in Kenya, dealing with several herbs, including sage, which it packages in dried form and distribute through different outlets including supermarkets. A 250g pouch of sage sells for Sh497 in leading supermarkets, while the 20g is Sh20.
“Demand for sage is not very high compared to herbs like oregano, rosemary and mixed herbs,” said Margaret Ngea, Marketing Manager of Deepa Industries Ltd ( Tropical Heat),
However, most of the herbs processed are currently imported from South Africa. “For example, we import sage from South Africa and as I have told you demand for sage is not very high like other herbs, we only import about 150kg of sage on average every month,” she said.
In addition to the underproduction, Margaret cites the issue of quality in the production and preparation of herbs.
“In Kenya, our farmers do not have good facilities for removing moisture out of sage,” she adds
Some of the common usages of herbs are as condiments to flavour dishes or for making herb teas. Herbs also have many medicinal values, for example sage is said to improve and boost memory and is good for children.“Sage is rich in vitamin A and calcium, which are extremely important for the growth of teeth, bones and skin,” said Margaret.
Farmers can buy the seeds, seedlings or use cuttings from already developed herb plants. “Seeds are readily available in most of the leading Agro vets and it’s not very expensive,” said Josephine. “Seedlings costs about Sh20 per seedlings while 100 grams of herbs costs about Sh150.”
Most herbs are sold dried and therefore do not have the same strict standards as for other fruits and vegetables. “Over 60 per cent of herbs are sold dried and the moisture content is the only requirement made by KEBS to issue the permit.”
Written by Galgallo Fayo for African Laughter
