When cooking oil and animal feed prices became too high for Marystella Wabwoba, she decided to produce her own. Today, sunflowers are all she grows.
“About five years ago, I realised I could grow sunflower on the farm and use it to produce oil which has no chemicals as preservatives and use its by-product to feed my animals,” the small-scale Kenyan farmer said.
Wabwoba’s homestead in the village of Sinoko in Bungoma County is a flurry of activity, with a constant stream of customers buying sunflower oil.
After harvesting the sunflower seed, she crushes them using an oil press to extract the oil, then uses the by-product as feed for dairy animals, pigs and poultry. Wabwoba is also spreading the word about her success in the surrounding community.
“Given that I’m an agricultural officer, I also mobilised women and youth groups and educated them on the need to venture into sunflower farming. A few bought the idea and embraced the venture,” said Wabwabo, who has a PhD in food security and sustainable development.
“In an acre piece of land, you get at least 1000 kilograms of sunflower seeds. When you crush it, for every 4kgs of sunflower seed cake, you get a litre of cooking oil,” Wabwoba explained.
“When you harvest 1000kgs of sunflower seeds, after crushing, you get 250 litres of sunflower cooking oil, translating to Ksh100,000 (U$770) per acre.”
The farmer has a seven-acre piece of land on which she grows sunflowers – and from where she retails her oil.
“I sell a half litre of sunflower cooking oil at Ksh400 (U$3.079), five litres at Ksh1,800 (US13.86), 10 litres at Ksh3,500 (26.94) and 20 litres goes at Ksh4,500 (U$34.642),” she said.
Wabwoba not only grows her sunflowers but is also involved in contract farming, buying seeds from other farmers in the community.
“I have another 20 farmers, each with an acre for growing sunflowers. Last season, they produced 20,000 kilograms of sunflower which I bought from them at Ksh100 (U$ 0.77). After crushing, I got 5000 litres of sunflower oil,” she said.
Bungoma County farmer Joyce Wamono grows sunflowers in Bungoma’s Sirisia constituency. She sells the by-product of the oil she produces and says that for every 100kg of sunflower seeds, 75kg becomes by-product. She sells that at Ksh70 ($0.54) per kilogram.
Wamono said she previously grew maise. But it would take six months to mature, and she would get only four 50kg bags that could not sustain her needs. On the same piece of land, she now gets three times her previous income.
“We can plant sunflower, produce vegetable cooking oil and sell, then use the money we get to buy foodstuffs like maise and beans that we cannot produce in our small pieces of land,” Wamono said.
She also explained that a sunflower crop is more drought-resistant, and its oil has no cholesterol. She added that it helps reduce non-communicable diseases like hypertension and cancer that people get by using chemically-preserved cooking oil.
Besides Bungoma, sunflowers are also grown in Kenya’s Kakamega, Meru, Homa and Kajiado counties and parts of the North Rift and Coastal region.
Vincent Wechabe, a sunflower farmer from Bumula constituency, said he abandoned sugarcane farming in favour of sunflower three years ago.
“I can’t compare sunflower farming proceeds with sugarcane at all. The (sugar mill) factory will give all farm inputs, and you provide labour. After a two-year wait, on my five-acre piece of land, out of the gross of Ksh525,000 ($4,000) I used to get after selling cane to the factory, I would remain with Ksh75,000 ($577). But with sunflower, I get a bumper harvest after 115 days,” said Wechabe.
Wechabe, also a livestock official in his county, said sunflower was previously relegated to a second-class crop, and maise was prioritised as a first-class crop.
“The call now is to put sunflower in its right place of hierarchy and stop the notion that it’s a second-class crop if we want to solve the food insecurity situation in the country,” he said.
bird story agency
Marystella Wabwoba, a small-scale Kenyan farmer, turned to sunflower farming and oil production to combat the high prices of cooking oil and animal feed. In Sinoko, Bungoma County, she harvests sunflower seeds, extracts oil, and uses the by-products as animal feed. An agricultural officer with a PhD in food security, Wabwoba also educates local women and youth on sunflower farming.
Her seven-acre sunflower farm yields significant profits, with 1000 kilograms of seeds producing 250 liters of oil per acre, translating to Ksh100,000 (U$770) per acre. Wabwoba retails her oil and also engages in contract farming with 20 community farmers. Sunflower farming is proving more profitable than traditional crops like maize and sugarcane for many local farmers, with benefits including drought resistance and health advantages from its cholesterol-free oil.
Besides Bungoma, sunflowers are grown in other Kenyan counties such as Kakamega, Meru, Homa, and Kajiado. Farmers like Joyce Wamono and Vincent Wechabe have shifted to sunflowers due to their quicker harvest time and better economic returns. Wechabe advocates for prioritizing sunflower over traditional crops to address food security in Kenya.
