A young female farmer is blazing the trails in the agriculture industry as she’s making a fortune from apple farming inspired by her father’s success in the sector in the 80s.
According to Kate Wambugu of Wambugu Apples’ Farm, her father ventured into apple farming in 1985, and four and half decades later, she is following in his footsteps and making good gains in a sector that was said to be impossible in Africa.
Speaking to Ghanaian Youtuber, Wode Maya, the farmer said apple farming is one of the most lucrative ventures that need less orientation and does not demand too much attention. She detailed that one needs land, water, and manure only to feed the tree.
She added that Apple farming is not as labour-intensive as many farmers perceive and can be harvested for more than 80 years.
“Once you plant the seedlings, it takes nine months only for the trees to start producing fruits,” Wambugu told Wode Maya.
From Laikipia County of Kenya, Kate Wambugu is on a journey to inspire African youth to succeed in Kenya and other parts of the continent by training them on how to grow apples and become self-sufficient through agriculture.
She said currently, apples are being grown in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leon, Malawi, Namibia, Ghana, Gambia and Nigeria.
“The most important thing for the apple is what you feed it and once you feed it you’re good to go. Botswana and Namibia have sandy soil, the soil believed can’t grow anything but they’re growing apples. You only need manure and ensure that watering is done,” Kate said.
“Growing apples is highly profitable. A kilo of apple made up of 7 fruits is sold for $3 (GHC33.00) and one tree can give you 200 pieces per harvesting year and that’s a lot of money. It can be harvested for over 80 years; it is disease-resistant, you only need to water and give it manure,” Kate Wambugu told Wode Maya.
She further said that an acre can accommodate 600 seedlings but one can start with a few seedlings.
A farmer can also make three harvests in a year, depending on the plantation season.
