By MaryAnne Musilo

In Diani, Kwale County, farmer and restaurateur Andrew Bowi is earning premium prices from vanilla, sold locally at Sh6,500 per kilo.

Andrew, who runs Kusini Farm and a restaurant in Diani, said his dual role as both producer and processor has given him a key market edge. “Having a restaurant as a grower is very advantageous, especially given ours is located in a tourist zone, so it attracts buyers. We make pastries and extracts for sale and also give guests free trials,” he said.

He made his first sale in 2021, after mastering the curing process. “I started selling vanilla pods in 2021 to food processors for confectionery and yoghurt, and to manufacturers of air fresheners locally. I also have a restaurant where I now take 30 per cent of my yields,” said Andrew.

He began farming vanilla in 2018, after looking for a crop that was not common in the local market. “I didn’t want to grow maize and beans like everyone else. I wanted something unique, and settled on vanilla farming. I bought 500 cuttings from Zanzibar at Sh800 each. It took 18 months for them to mature,” he said.

Vanilla farming, however, requires precision in curing to achieve commercial quality. “When we harvest, we still have to go through a few months of curing, because you don’t want to rush the process. If I dry the wrong way, they become woody and no one wants to buy it,” said Andrew. When harvested, the pods have no aroma, but the slow process of sun-drying and conditioning converts glucovanillin into vanillin, creating vanilla’s strong scent.

But weather changes have been a challenge. “With the cash I made last season, I invested in borehole drilling so as to have a reliable source of water for my plants,” he said. He is now planning to install solar-powered irrigation to overcome frequent power cuts.

Vanilla production remains limited in Kenya, totalling about 15 tonnes a year, while imports were valued at just $4,700 (around 155kg) in 2023. At the same time, the country exported about 1.4 tonnes, mostly to Rwanda and Uganda, according to the World Integrated Trade Solution.

Related News:

FarmBiz TV:Vanilla prices soars for pioneering Kenyan farmers

Farmers’ Friend: the inside-track on growing vanilla in Kenya

Most of Kenya’s vanilla is bought by food processors and manufacturers in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu for use in ice-cream, baked goods, confectionery, and cosmetics. However, the small local output and rising global prices mean that processors still rely heavily on imports, leaving a gap for new growers.

“Vanilla is not an easy crop, but if you do it well and get the curing right, the returns are far better than any ordinary crop,” said Bowi.

Are you a farmer looking to grow the most profitable crop on your farm, with or without irrigation. Use FarmBizAfrica’s HarvestMAX on https://harvestmax.farmbizapps.com and it will tell you in less than a minute what the highest income-earning crops are for your weather, soil type and this season, based on your seasonal weather forecast. Don’t make weather losses ever again, and more than triple your income.