How Ngata farmer grew sweet potato weighing 11 kilograms
Manoah Kilach and the wife Zipporah Kilach display the 11 kg sweet potato from their farm in Ngata.
A farmer in Nakuru county is hoping to get into the Guinness World Book of Records after harvesting a gigantic sweet potato tuber that weighs 11 kilograms. The current record holder got a tuber weighing 37kgs.
Manoah Kilach, a farmer from Nakuru’s Ngata estate in Rongai sub-county says he harvested the tuber on November 9 and still has some un-uprooted.
“This sweet potato weighs about 11 kilograms and is by far the heaviest produce I’ve gotten on my farm in a while. It has grown this big by intentionally taking care of it through best farming practices, which includes organic foliar fertilizers and farm yard manure," says the farmer.
This he says can feed a household of 20 in one serving.
For some time, Kilach has been cultivating sweet potatoes, and his efforts have gained attention in recent years due to the size of his harvests.
His most famous achievement came in 2015 when he harvested a 7-kilogram sweet potato, using only organic farmyard manure from his sheep and dairy goats.
A sweet potato that weighs 11 kilograms.
“After this, I got to work with experts from Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) in the field, which led my farm to be used as a demo farm. I have educated about 50 farmers on the different varieties of the tuber and shared methods for cultivation and seed production. I also offer my farm as a source for seed cuttings,” says Kilach.
Since his produce has become heavier, Kilach says marketers are willing to pay higher prices for his quality sweet potatoes.
To put it in perspective, a 90-kg bag of sweet potato goes for Sh. 3000 at a Nairobi market, and due to the superior size and quality of his produce, he can command better prices than other local farmers.
Currently, Kilach grows seven improved varieties of sweet potatoes, including one local variety- yellow flesh sweet potato, on his two-acre farm with sweet potatoes occupying the biggest portion alongside another crop like beans.
“While I grow the crop for subsistence use, I sell the excess in local markets, especially the local variety- yellow-fleshed sweet potato. The sweet potatoes grow in about six months, allowing me to harvest up to twice a year,” he adds.
Kilach is working to promote the value addition of the tuber to promote healthier and more nutritious diets such as sweet potato chips, bhajias, dried sweet potatoes, and even flour for making chapatis and porridge.