Simon Arap Ruto, 65, is a positive thinker who can see an opportunity from a very difficult situation.
Despite retiring from civil service, Ruto has broken all odds to become one of the luckiest farmers in the North Rift Region after he reclaimed land previously covered by deep gullies. The gullies had wrecked havoc in most parts of Kerio Valley for years.
He says that the journey of liberating his family’s property began in 1962 when he joined Nursery School at the age of ten years because he first needed to take care of the cows since the parents were peasant farmers.
Mzee Ruto, from Kiboino Location in Baringo Central Sub County reminisces the days when he could see some trenches widening and getting deeper whenever rains pondered the area therefore cutting off usual routes to school as well as the grazing fields.
“We could not pass the route since the soils were moving downstream making some of my neighbours flee the area and move to higher grounds,” he explained.
He says the gullies were formed because at the slopes, rain water was flowing downstream with force taking advantage of the fact that the soils were very loose.
“Despite the fact that the area has fertile soils, there was no single check dam constructed by then that would control the speed of the water from damaging crops and properties,” he points out.
After visiting several agricultural research centers in the country coupled with his passion for farming, he managed to level the already eroded 15 acre piece which he inherited from his parents using an excavator donated by a good samaritan.
He was recently recognized in Net fund Green Innovators Awards (GIA) as an outstanding farmer who has demonstrated exemplary innovative, environmentally responsible and sustainable innovations in the country.
Mzee Ruto says the rehabilitation works cost him more than Ksh1million but he knew that he would regain the money in less than two years if he puts the farm into correct use.
“I flattened all the gullied areas, fenced it, created furrows and then constructed check dams near the farm to control the flood water,” he said.
The farmer recalls that his intention was to create food for his family and local market because he had seen a gap due to the fact that most farmers in the area had abandoned crop farming and shifted to pastoralism.
He says that the first crop he planted under the refurbished farm was maize then he shifted to horticulture farming where he planted onions, bananas, Sukuma wiki and all sorts of vegetables.
Due to of the semi-arid condition of the area, Mzee Ruto injected drip irrigation by drawing the waters from Kerio River to his farm using his standby tractor that would pump the water to a farm pond situated at the highest point of his farm then it is pumped again into a 30,000litres reservoir tanks using installed solar panels.
He says that the water can now easily flow to the various farm sections in the field by force of gravity as it is controlled in each unit where a variety of crops have been planted.
On harvesting the produce he’s been able to generate more income from the farm which nobody thought can be productive.
On a normal day Mzee Ruto says he wakes up as early as 6am and reports to his farm at exactly 8am to supervise activities under the custody of his five farm workers then visit his six acres pasture farm which is situated a kilometer away before winding up his daily routine by checking on his 15 dairy cows he rears along the Tugen hills.
Last year he harvested onions twice and managed to produce more than 3,000 kg which he sold at Sh60 per kilo, the second harvest increased to 7,000kg at a price of Sh70 per kg which enabled him to earn about Sh600,000 for a single crop.
Titus Barmasai, a community pro development initiator observes that the technology used at the farm has greatly boosted productivity because crops adaptable in the highlands are doing three times better because of the soil component used besides the agro shed nets to prevent excess heat from damaging the crops.
He notes that drip irrigation has performed wonders at the farm more than what greenhouse would have done because it is very economical.
Barmasai states that areas along Kerio valley region like Kisok, Mosei, Kamsiran, Kurumbobso, Kisakchan, Cheptulel, Nyalilbuch, Kapkongony and Kipsoit in Baringo Central, Kaptara, Kapluk, Katibel and Kapnarok in Bawessa ward and lower parts of Bartabwa such as Kinyach and Chemintany have been greatly affected by the gullies.
Beatrice Kiprop and Wilson Komen working in Ruto’s techno farm are thankful for the opportunity presented in the farm, saying they have acquired requisite agricultural skills from the two years they have been working at the farm.
Komen says he can now get income after the day’s activities which enables them to sustain them in feeding their respective families after their community land was rendered unproductive by the destructive gullies.
His advice to the youths is to stop on depending on white color jobs which are now hard to come by, instead roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty by tilling land and embracing agribusiness.
