Jambo Elders…was thinking of investing on the future kidogo by planting eucalyptus trees on 10 Acres of land in Kajiado…
How much do you think I’d need?As in plant population per acre?
Hapo pengine I think the requirements are basic… fertilizer, labour (Kwa labour do you pay per day or per hole Dug and tree planted?).
Trees I’ll source from KEFRI .
Good project.
Plan around the start of the next rainy season. If you can, have the entire farm ploughed & harrowed. Plant other things huko. It helps the trees grow faster.
After this, you get people to dig holes & plant. Pay per hole planted. It should be around 660 seedlings per acre(if for timber, poles).
Then waiiiiitttt. And that’s the hard part. Like I planted mine starting 2014 & yet to get a coin from that farm. But Kajiado is a bit warm. Your trees might shoot up much faster than mine.
Finally the prices. It isn’t as rosy as people say. The max I’ve heard guys selling a tree after around 10 years is 2,500 bob!
Kajiado pande gani? There’s lady who did over 100 acres in the mid 2000s, somewhere between the vilagio estate and Maili Tisa. She got her seedlings from Kenya Forest (Hadi akapewa award) ,but they did not do very well.You can’t miss her farm, it’s right on the road on your way to Namanga. I would say 60-80% of her trees died because of harsh weather conditions, as you drive by, you can see the dried up Eucalyptus trees on the farm…termites zinasherekea tu. You need to seriously invest in a huge well constructed dam water reserve eg 1-2acre dam done by a professional. The Kajiado climate is very harsh, you will easily find areas that get good rain for a week then it dries up for the rest of the year. That’s lady alijaribu sana, she had over 7 boreholes, and one major dam and still the water was not enough… wamasaai nao pia wakaleta shida when she tried to buy water from vendors juu N’gombe zao zinakufa of thirst, wengine wakaingisha N’gombe kwa shamba yake especially near the dam. My take, get limitless water supply, those trees need a lot of water… Try Pixies, they are more hard core ,can survive well and returns are quicker and not labor intensive
Why can’t you look for the drought resistant fast growing hardwood trees KFS has been pushing. They are good for timber too
Kajiado environment is not that friendly to eucalyptus trees, eucalyptus hutaka Maji mengi Sana THROUGHOUT which might not be achieved in Kajiado county, try grevillea under irrigation, it attains its maturity faster than eucalyptus. Ensure the soil depth is deep enough to allow easy penetration of the taproot( sehemu zingine huwa Na jiwe kubwa a few feets below).
Use 2 metres by 2 metres i.e about 1000 trees per acre ju branches za greavillea huwa hazipanuki Sana.
10,000 trees by 2k = 20M in less than 8 years.
Wait!Grevillea is 2K??
A mature one is beyond, where I am currently it goes for 5k.
Nimeweka hiyo figure coz that habitat is not very ok so there is a possibility of not getting the best.
see this in its natural habitat.alideal na wao aje
Vile umeambiwa hapo juu. Kajiado na Eucalyptus in one sentence=a failed project. Try pixies/oranges.
Interesting… More like 15m…ukitoa expenses.
Eucalyptus inataka areas zina mvua mingi sana. Areas kama Central Kenya, Meru, Kisii Eldoret, Nakuru, Western Kenya etc. Kajiado na vile imekauka si utalia machozi tu juu ya losses.
Was thinking along the same lines. Fruit trees like mangoes, oranges or avocados are low maintenance. They will give you very handsome returns within a shorter period (3-5 years) and continue earning over many years making it a viable retirement plan
Check out what people in similarly arid areas like Ukambani are doing this.
With a mix of oranges, mangoes and avocados will give you income all year round.
You are dreaming
Good observation and insight. Now hizi seedlings za pixies zinatoka wapi? I have some idle family land in Kibwezi and I could try this project ya Pixies. Thank you
Infact it’s said the sweetest apple mangoes in Kenya come from Kibwezi,Makueni and Kitui. Best advise would be to go there and visit the farmers doing large scale farming. Some even charge for a visit and offer classes. Then hapo you’ll get to know who sells the best seedlings. Lakini at kilambogo, on your way to Garrisa, thika Rd there is a reknown farmer that used to propagate seedlings, nimesahau jina yake but ukiulizia the chaps selling seedlings along the way just before the T Junction to kilimambogo you shall be directed well.
Visit Agricultural extension officers in your area. They will link you to the closest certified propagators in your region.
Thank you
Wuachana na eucalyptus. Plant muguka and become a billionaire.
I agree. Jana I made 50k from a small portion, you can see freshly cut growing tips. Mke mborana ndio alileta hii idea.
Good stuff, what small portion are you referring to?
