You may be wondering why we have put this up on a personal finance site. Truth is we all need food, we also need to cheaper and innovative find ways of producing food. The cost of living is directly affected by what we pay for food and the sooner we are able to find solutions, the easier life becomes.

More than exporting, we also need to invest in foo production for ourselves first. The current interest in greenhouse farming is welcome but it should not be the end of innovation in the agricultural sector.

Greenhouse farming in Kenya is a very effective way to deal with the current drought especially if you are an agropreneurs. I am one of those few blessed Nairobians who live in a farm and able to pick my fresh vegetables from the plant itself. What interests me most is not only the fresh vitamins boost but also the potential of creating wealth especially if you own land near water bodies.

At the farm, there is a greenhouse of 35 by 16 m from Hortipro ltd Kenya. They have planted 2000 plants of tomatoes; Anna F1 variety and Lets get to the math;

1 plant can produce 50 kgs of harvest at full maturity which is normally after 10-12 month * KES 40-USD 0.50 (current average wholesale price) * 1000 = KES 4m –USD 50 000

Even with overall costs being 50% of sales (rather unlikely) you are left with a cool 2m-USD 25 000 in the first year of business.

Greenhouse farming in Kenya is now one of the most lucrative investments you can have in your portfolio. Whether you are exporting to Juba or the Euro zone, you can’t fail realize good value. Of course this depends on different circumstances; Land size and topography, skills, location, access to finance.

The most important thing to consider is where to get your greenhouse tunnel. If you import stuff or have a connect please do get it from China using their biggest online commerce website alibaba.com and get the hydroponic equipment. Hydroponics is basically the art of soil-less cultivation very popular in the cold parts of our planet like the UK, Canada; but we’ll dive into hydroponics on another day.

If you go local, my advice to you is that you get it from Hortipro Ltd. At first glance, Amiran Kenya looks like a good deal but the tunnel is small and short. Hortipro ltd’s greenhouse tunnel is big, strong and they set you up very fast but I am no expert just an investment analyst  please share your thoughts below …

Anthony Kahonge Mwangi is An Investment Researcher, Blogger and Freelancer. He blogs at Invest in Kenya