How to Establish a Profitable Tomato Farm in Kenya

Step 1: Plan Your Business: Tomato Farming is a Business!

Identify Your Target Market

Tomato farming in Kenya is a capital-intensive business, so, it must be properly planned to avoid losses. As such, you must identify your target market before you put down your first shilling. To whom will you sell the tomatoes once they are ready?

Tomato Market in Kenya: Identifying a target market is crucial

Visit the local open-air markets and find out from whom the retailers buy their tomatoes – try to make a deal with them to buy your tomatoes once ready. Find the contacts of several major wholesale tomato buyers and make a deal with the one you deem best. If you intend to do large-scale tomato farming, approach structured markets such as supermarkets, schools, and hospitals.

Set aside the required capital

Farm inputs have become very expensive and establishing an acre of tomatoes in Kenya can consume as much as Ksh300,000 from planting to harvesting. I suggest that you have all the capital ready or at least have a reliable regular source before you start the project. This is very important because it ensures that you will plant, weed, spray, stake, apply fertilizer, and harvest at the right time. Delays in these activities can lead to serious losses.

See the Cost Analysis and Profitability section below for a breakdown of the inputs needed.

Step 2: Select the Right Tomato Variety

In Kenya, tomato farming is done either in open fields or under greenhouse systems. Here, I will give you only a few of the best varieties for each system.

Open-Field Tomato Varieties

• Terminator F1 – Determinate, fast-maturing, disease-resistant variety with a yield of up to 40 tons per acre.
• Bawito F1 – Fast maturing, disease resistant, heavy feeder with a long harvesting period and firm flesh that ensures long shelf life.
• Ansal F1 – New variety with high disease resistance, high yield, and very long shelf life. It is also early maturing (65 days from transplanting) but a heavy feeder.

Best tomato varieties in Kenya for open-field farming

There are many other hybrid tomato varieties in Kenya that are good, so do not be limited to these three. You can get ready seedlings to transplant from professional nurseries.

Greenhouse Tomato Varieties

The main advantage of greenhouse tomato varieties is their long lifespan: some of them are reported to keep bearing fruits for over 6 months without the need for establishing new plants. 

If your farm is in a cold rainy place, then you definitely need to construct a greenhouse and plant one of the varieties below:

• Anna F1 – High yield, large fruits, long shelf life.
• Tylka F1 – Disease resistant, grows well in greenhouses.
• Chonto F1 – High productivity, firm, red fruits.

Step 3: Select the Planting Site and Prepare the Land

When selecting the site for your tomato farming project:

• Choose a site with adequate sunlight: avoid areas that are often under shade from tall trees, buildings, or hills. (at least 6-8 hours/day).
• Avoid low-lying, flood-prone areas. Tomatoes are not tolerant to too much soil moisture.
• Choose an area with loamy soil for good drainage. The good news is that if your farm has black cotton soils, you only need to plant your tomatoes on raised beds and they will thrive.
• Remember to do a soil test before starting any new tomato planting project; even if you had done it earlier. The soil composition changes as crops take up the nutrients from the soil. Make all the soil amendments recommended in the soil test results.
• Plough and harrow the land to a fine texture ahead of transplanting. Determine the irrigation system you want to use and install the required infrastructure before transplanting. If you are using flood irrigation, make the terraces instead of harrowing.

Step 4: Transplanting Tomato Seedlings

Obtain high-quality, ready-to-plant seedlings of your chosen variety from a registered and certified nursery. Inspect the seedlings to ensure they are healthy, pest-free, and well-hardened. Here are important points to consider when transplanting the seedlings:

• Transplant during cool hours (morning/evening) to avoid stress.
• Spacing: 60 cm (row-to-row) × 45 cm (plant-to-plant).
• Apply DAP fertilizer at planting (1 teaspoon per hole) to boost root formation.
• Water immediately after transplanting.

 

Hi Quality, ready-to-plant tomato seedlings at Richfarm Kenya

Step 5: Crop Management (Watering, Fertilization, Pest and Disease Control)

Watering

While tomatoes require sufficient water, overwatering them could cause serious losses. There is no set or recommended number of times to irrigate tomatoes per week because water requirements vary depending on soil drainage and weather conditions. You should determine the best irrigation schedule for your farm.

Here’s what you should do: Check the soil moisture content by randomly picking a lump of soil from any part of your farm and squeezing it in your hand. If the soil sticks together, it still contains enough moisture: if it crumbles, it is time to irrigate.

Drip irrigation is the most recommended for tomato farming. However, flood irrigation is desirable to many farmers since it is cheaper – does not require a heavy capital outlay. We recommend that you never use overhead irrigation such as sprinklers since this creates a conducive environment for diseases.

Drip irrigation is the best system for tomato farming in Kenya

Fertilizer Application Schedule

This fertilizer application schedule is a general guideline. Your soil test results will give you accurate figures on what you need to apply.

• At planting – Apply DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) for root development.
• After 3-4 weeks – Apply CAN (Calcium Ammonium Nitrate) to boost vegetative growth.
• During the flowering and fruiting stage – Apply NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium), with a higher potassium component to encourage fruit setting.

I also recommend that you include Foliar sprays (e.g., Vegimax, EasyGro) to enhance growth and yield. There are foliar sprays for the planting, vegetative, and fruiting stages, which should be used alongside the other fertilizers explained above.

Pest and Disease Control

Here are the common tomato pests and their treatment:

• Aphids & Whiteflies – Use light insecticides like Duduthrin and Actara, and include the use of sticky cards that are designed to attract and trap these insects.
• Tomato Hornworms – Hand-pick or use pesticides such as Thunder.
• Tuta absoluta (Tomato Leaf Miner) – Use pheromone traps, spray Belt or Tracer.

The common tomato diseases and their treatments are:

• Early & Late Blight – Spray Ridomil Gold or copper-based fungicides such as Funguran or GreenCop. Here is a comprehensive guide on How to Prevent and Control Late Blight in Tomatoes.

• Bacterial Wilt – Do not plant tomatoes on the same plot for 2 consecutive seasons. Crop rotate with other crops that are not in the tomato family: I recommend using legumes such as beans or peas for nitrogen-fixing. However, you can also crop rotate with leafy vegetable crops such as Kales, cabbages, manage, or terere.  Finally, be sure to use tomato varieties that are resistant to bacterial wilt.
• Fusarium Wilt – Ensure that you plant your tomatoes on well-drained soils. Keep improving the drainage of your farm through the addition of organic matter and making trenches to drain away excess water.

Step 6: Staking, Pruning, and Weeding

Staking (Supporting the Plants)

Use wooden stakes (1.5m tall) and tie plants using simple threads – the most affordable and commonly used in Kenya are nylon threads obtained from shredding gunias. Staking prevents fruits from touching soil and reduces diseases.

Staking is crucial to successful tomato farming

Pruning

Remove all the lower leaves and excess side shoots to improve airflow and focus energy on fruit development.

Weeding

Ensure your tomato farm is always free from weeds to prevent competition for nutrients. Mulching could help you achieve this as well as conserve moisture.

Step 7: Harvesting and Post-Harvest Handling

Most hybrid tomatoes in Kenya mature 65-75 days after transplanting. Harvest when fruits are firm and slightly red so that they do not spoil during transportation. Use clean ventilated wooden or plastic crates to avoid bruising during storage and transportation. When packaging, remove all damaged, diseased or small fruits; ensure your produce shines in terms of quality in order to attract buyers and a good price.

Remember to store and transport your tomatoes in cool and dry conditions.

Step 8: Cost Analysis and Profitability

Land Preparation:

• Plowing, harrowing, and trench making: Ksh 10,000 to Ksh 20,000
• Soil testing: Approximately Ksh7,500

Planting Material:

• Certified seedlings: Approximately Ksh 40,000 for 8,000 seedlings (assuming a spacing of 60cm x 45cm)

Inputs:

• Fertilizers:
• D.A.P. (80 kg): Ksh 6,400  
• C.A.N. (120 kg): Ksh 9,600
• N.P.K. (120 kg): Ksh 9,600
• Manure: 8 tonnes of goat or cow manure at Ksh 1,000 per tonne: Total Ksh 8,000
• Manure: 8 tonnes of goat or cow manure at Ksh 1,000 per tonne: Total Ksh 8,000
• Agrochemicals (Pesticides and Fungicides): Approximately Ksh 22,000

Irrigation:

• Irrigation costs can vary significantly depending on the source of water, weather conditions, and soil type. An estimated cost for irrigating an acre from transplanting to harvesting is Ksh 70,000.

Labor:

• Approximately 100 man-days at Ksh 500 per day: Total Ksh 50,000

Land Leasing:

• Approximately Ksh 20,000 per year, though this can vary by region.

Miscellaneous Expenses:

• An estimated Ksh 30,000 to cover unforeseen costs.

Total Estimated Cost:

• Approximately Ksh 290,600 per acre.

 

Expected Returns (Per Acre)

• Yield: 15,000 – 20,000 kg per acre.
• Selling Price: Ksh 80 per kg (average).
• Revenue: 1,200,000 – 1,600,000 Ksh.
• Net Profit: 1,100,000 – 1,500,000 Ksh per acre (after expenses).

Step 9: Marketing and Selling Your Tomatoes

Right from step 1, we said that you should only start your tomato farming business if you have a target market in mind. It is a big mistake to start gambling with the market when you start harvesting. Start engaging your tomato buyers right from the start of your project and keep them posted on the progress and projected time of harvest.

Oftentimes, the buyers will request for samples before entering a purchasing deal. That bit calls for consistency in production and for that reason, I encourage first time tomato farmers in Kenya to start with the determinate or semi-determinate tomato varieties. These varieties have a longer harvesting period, giving the farmer enough time to provide samples and secure a serious market.

Step 10: Continuity, Scaling Up and Business Expansion

Like any other business, tomato farming in Kenya has a learning curve. For you to establish a truly profitable business in this area, you must endure the learning curve and take the lessons with you as you scale up and expand your business.

One big secret of success in tomato farming in Kenya is continuity: you must be a consistent supplier for you to lock in a stable market. This calls for continuous expansion to ensure that you not only serve your existing market well but also attract new and competitive buyers.