Mr Kimani Mbugua at his chamomile farm in Wanjohi in Kipipiri, Nyandarua on January 28. PHOTO | CHEBOITE KIGEN | NMG

When Elijah Kimani started growing herbs on his three-acre farm, it was not because he knew its real value.

Neither was he was part of the few Kenyan exporters who made Sh800 million in six months last year, selling herbs ranging from basil, chamomile, thyme, chives, mint, oregano, marjoram others, according to the latest Horticulture Directorate statistics.

However, as Kenyan farmers decry the low returns from traditional crops such as cabbages, there seems to be an untapped market in especially Arab countries for exporting spices and herbs.

Mr Kimani grows chamomile, a daisy-like plant that is used in teas and that has medicinal properties. Before he switched to chamomile, he grew fenugreek, lemongrass, and coriander.

He says despite earning a tidy profit from the herbs, more than what maize farmers make, for instance, he would like to supply export markets like the Middle East and Asia but the harvest is unsustainable, considering that exporters would require fresh pickings every week or so.

“Chamomile can fetch better prices in export markets but then I am unable to supply constantly. I am currently recruiting more farmers but being a less-known, non-traditional crop, most farmers are skeptical. Not many want to embrace new crops. There is also the challenge of getting quality seeds. I have refused to give them the seeds for free since most people never get serious when given things for free. I sell a spoon of the seeds at Sh3,000 which is more than enough for one acre,” says Mr Kimani.

At his farm in Nyandarua County, Wanjohi Village, the white-flowered shrubs of chamomile are visible from about three kilometers to the farm which also has onions and cabbages.

The 45-year-old started growing herbs out of curiosity and frustration of getting low returns from growing cabbages.

A former street hawker, who was selling his wares in Eldoret town for nine years, Mr Kimani moved back to the village in 2015 to take care of his ailing father, who used to grow herbs.

Just like many farmers in Nyandarua, he first jumped into growing Irish potatoes. During harvest time, every other farmer would bring sacks and sacks of potatoes to the market, forcing him to sell at very low prices.

“The returns were so low. It was demotivating,” he says.

After one year, he stopped growing potatoes and grew coriander, a herb that is used to flavour dishes, on one acre. He would sell in Nyahururu in Laikipia County, where he came across lemongrass and fenugreek, which is used in teas and for making medicines.

“At the market, a found a trader selling coriander displayed on the table, but he had a separate bag under the table which had some seeds which Indians, mostly and well-off customers would request for it, and he would pull them from his bag and sell it to them,” Mr Kimani says.

“I asked him about the crop, and he refused to disclose the name. I bought it and enquired from my father who was an expert in such herbs,” recalls Mr Kimani, adding that that is how he discovered fenugreek, a unique herb that is used as alternative medicine and of late has gained users, especially breastfeeding mothers looking to improve milk production.

Mr Kimani travelled to Nakuru town where he bought a kilogramme of the fenugreek seeds at Sh1,000. He planted on a quarter an acre of land. After harvest, he milled it, gave a sample to his neighbours and friends as a marketing strategy.

“They were happy with the product and came for more. They also introduced the herbs to other people,” says Mr Kimani.

With time, he started mixing the dried, milled herbs and selling them. He mixed coriander, fenugreek, and cinnamon. The returns were good.

He increased the production of the fenugreek to one-acre, harvesting an average of 300 kgs. He made more mixed spices which he sold in social and public gatherings, and in agricultural shows in various parts of the country.

“From the one acre of land, I sold the fenugreek for Sh1,000 per kilo. I got Sh300,000 which I used to buy two dairy cows and invested in the chamomile growing,” he says.

However, the cost of production was slightly high, and the market was not so readily available.

Last year, he started farming chamomile, a flowering herb with a gentle floral aroma which he says has better market compared to other herbs, with less production costs.

“I spend about Sh2,500 per acre compared to maize and Irish potatoes which costed me on average Sh40,000 all-inclusive of land preparation, seeds, inputs, and labour,” he says.

Chamomile, he says, earns him good money locally, even as he looks to break into the export market.

“I make an average of Sh640,000 from an acre land from eight harvests. I pick about 80 kilos per harvest,” he says.

From the Horticulture Directorate statistics, Kenya exported chamomile worth Sh1.6 million in the six-month last year, out of the total export earnings from herbs which fetched Sh800 million.

Classified under specialty teas, Kenya lags behind Egypt which is one of the largest exporters of chamomile tea today, producing sweet, full-flowered chamomile of exceptional quality.

The chamomile herbal tea market is expected to gain growth in the coming years. The rise in health consciousness among consumers across the globe is escalating the growth of the chamomile herbal tea market.

The biggest consumers are in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

Charles Kuria started getting export orders to Qatar three years ago.

Although there are low export volumes compared to the onions, potatoes, and cabbages that he sells out of Kenya, every month, he exports about 1,500 kilos of herbs to Qatar, ranging from basil, thyme, chives, mint, oregano, tarragon, chervil, marjoram, and chamomile.

He buys from a farmer in Naivasha, who sells them already packaged in small boxes ready for export.

“I make about $3.5 (Sh397) profit per kilo, after paying the farmer, freight, and necessary taxes,” he says, adding that he is hoping to grow the orders as he seeks more export opportunities.

Despite the economic and manufacturing importance of chamomile, it does not receive enough attention, either at the level of farmers, or governmental agricultural extension services.

In Kenya, a few agriculture officers are trying to introduce herbs to farmers. Mr Kimani says promoters distributed chamomile seeds to a few farmers in Nyandarua, but the farmers have no idea where they would sell the herb.

“There is a time that farmers were given chamomile seeds, just enough to grow on a quarter-acre of land. Most farmers did not plant them. Not every farmer goes out of their way to research about the crop, its health, and nutritional benefits and market it to sellers,” Mr Kimani says.

He now sells his chamomile to an Indian trader in Nairobi.

Lawrence Kariithi, a lemongrass grower in Mwea, Kirinyaga says herbs farming is lucrative but grossly unexploited.

“The size of the land is getting smaller and many families have subdivided to sell or build homes. Those interested in herbs farming can hardly sustain supplying to the local and international markets consistently and on large scale or add value. So they prefer to continue growing traditional cash crops like rice and coffee. Also, farmers lack the skills and knowledge on how to grow the herbs,” he said.

Mr Kariithi has been growing lemongrass farming for five years now and says he cannot meet the demand.

“I sell it locally and the demand is growing by day. So, I am currently training other small-scale growers in my area and supporting them grow the lemongrass so that I can meet the customers’ demands,” he said.

Lemongrass, which has medicinal benefits is infused in tea or used to make essential oils.

In Sainsbury’s supermarket in the UK, for instance, two sticks of lemongrass from Kenya can retail at anything from Sh155 (£0.75 per pack), yet farmers in rural areas grow and feed it to cows as an alternative to napier grass.

The lack of knowledge on where to sell the herbs and low consumption of Kenyans, especially in rural areas, means that the few farmers who venture into herbs farming such as rosemary, which fetches about Sh300 per kilo at the farmgate, end up neglecting it that they use it as a fence.

Yet if Kenya was to increase its rosemary exports, it will fetch good prices for farmers because it is used to make face cleansers, and essential oils for the skin and hair, a segment of the beauty industry that earns cosmetic makers billions of shillings globally as consumers shift preference to organic ingredients.

“I had to travel to Nairobi and approach one Indian trader. He was happy and bought the four kilos that I had carried, and he made more orders. Now herbalists camp at my farm. I also sell in Nakuru,” Mr Kimani says, adding that he now plans to increase acreage to four by the long rains season.

Nyandarua County Agriculture Executive James Karitu says the growing of herbs can be a rewarding venture, but farmers need to do a better market survey before planting.

“We have suitable climate and weather patterns for the herbs but then, few farmers are seriously growing the plants. It would be easier for the government to support the farmers and link them with potential buyers if they are in a group than when doing it individually. It is also advisable to liaise with our agricultural officers for proper guidance on best farming practices,” he says.