As seen in Kenya: An online ad for buying a greenhouse.
280,000 KES is about 1710 CHF / 1780 EUR / 1950 USD.
Is greenhouse produce toxic?
by Bosibori Osusu • 7 March 2024
“Catch me dead eating greenhouse produce.” Two women begin a heated conversation when one of them makes this statement. The women are at Makutano1 market, seeking to buy groceries for their families. One of the women was looking at what a greenhouse produce vendor offers, triggering this comment from the other woman. The argument goes on for a while and eventually both women go back home with no vegetables for their families. Some of the locals do believe that greenhouse produce is toxic and unfit for consumption. How do you explain how a plant that has always taken like six months to grow will in a greenhouse be ready for harvest in a few weeks?
I spoke to one of the local pastors, Pastor Busara* about his thoughts on these beliefs about greenhouse produce. “Greenhouse farming is not a very common thing here in our locality. Most people living here live under the poverty line, hence the old way of farming is all they know. Some do not even know what a greenhouse is,” he said.
Starting a greenhouse is an expensive venture, hence not so many people can afford to start one. People living below the poverty line cannot be able to venture into it without financial assistance such as loans, and these are not easy to find. Few people do know about greenhouse farming, but even fewer have the confidence and financial capability to venture into it. Dhahabu* is one of the very few locals who bravely ventured into greenhouse farming, a rare venture in most of our villages. The primary method of farming is open field farming.
“When I decided to start a greenhouse, it was purely impulsive. I had not thoroughly thought it through and also did not have the adequate knowledge to begin with. At the time it looked ‘glamorous’ and a good investment,” began Dhahabu. Dhahabu unfortunately does not run a greenhouse anymore. Her greenhouse business collapsed and she had to shut it down. “When I started the business, I got a lot of advice and opinions from all over the place. I made the mistake of not seeking professional advice and expertise. I also did not have a ready market. Some people even frowned upon my decision due to myths about greenhouse farming,” she added.
“I realized, a little too late, that a ready market is essential in order to run a successful greenhouse business. I had planted tomatoes, capsicum locally know as ‘pili pili hoho’2, cucumbers, sukuma wiki3 and spinach. Unfortunately, I did not have a ready market, hence I had to sell the produce at a loss so as to ensure they did not go bad. Open field produce tends to sell at a cheaper price as compared to greenhouse produce,” she said. Although greenhouse produce is more attractive to look at, more succulent and bigger in size, many of the locals cannot afford these prices. Dhahabu did not succeed in selling enough of her produce at the prices that she needed to charge, resulting in huge losses and the decision to shut her business down.
Mr. Mwendo*, one of the local farmers has the opinion that greenhouse farming requires too much attention and care, as compared to open field farming. “In open field farming, all you have to do is prepare the land, plant the seed, do some weeding once or twice. Then you are good to harvest. In greenhouse farming I hear that you have to keep checking daily,” he said. He also agrees that it is an expensive venture.
I asked Pastor Busara whether greenhouse farming should be incorporated into the society as an alternative way of farming. “I feel like it is important for people to have alternative ways of farming since the traditional ways are slowly becoming less productive, mostly because of global warming. I believe that the society should be sensitized, especially the people living in remote villages about greenhouse farming, its pros and cons.”
There are a number of advantages to using greenhouses. They include: Plants grow faster, they have longer harvesting periods, a higher production rate, possibility of all year-round harvest depending on the crops grown, relatively better protection from pests and harsh weather conditions such as excessive rainfall, cold temperatures etc. Greenhouses are at an advantage compared to open field farming because they do not necessarily depend on rainfall.
Although protection from pests is listed among the advantages of greenhouse farming, it is not full proof. Greenhouses in Kenya have largely been sold and marketed as a being free of pests and other risks, as an environment that guarantees high returns with minimal efforts. It is true that it is a fairly protected micro-environment which makes it easier to control the growth of weeds, pests and diseases in order to achieve higher yields. However, it is still very important to take precautions against pests and diseases, among other risks. Her believing exaggerated marketing promises got Dhahabu to plunge into the business without proper knowledge, and it cost her a lot of money in losses. “I learnt the hard way but I am grateful for the lesson,” she finished.
Some of the disadvantages of greenhouses include, but are not limited to: the initial set up for a greenhouse is quite costly, especially for the local farmers who are practically living in poverty and can barely afford to buy seedling and fertilizer for their open field farms. Managing and running a greenhouse require a higher level of crop management skill set as compared to open field farming. It is greatly advised to acquire a more advanced set of knowledge when it comes to greenhouse farming.
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Notes:
1 “Makutano” is a real place in rural Kenya where the author recently stayed for a while for personal reasons, even though it’s not really called “Makutano”, the alias name being used in order to avoid the risk of needlessly hurting the feelings of the concerned people. The conversation described in the opening paragraph of this article is in its details fictional, but it truthfully summarizes the kinds of conversations between locals that the author has witnessed. back
2 Pili pili hoho are green, red and yellow bell peppers, a type of vegetable used to prepare stews. back
3 Sukuma wiki is a type of cabbage that is normally served with a local maize flour mix known as 'ugali'. back
* The names of Pastor Busara, Dhahabu, and Mr. Mwendo have been changed.
About the author:
Bosibori Osusu is a Kenyan Journalist. She lives and works in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya.
About the image:
On online advertisement, seen in Kenya in early 2024,
from a company calling itself “Kilimo by Urban Fresh”. They have a website at
kilimo.urbanfresh.co.ke .
The ad is reproduced here on the basis of the legal right to do so in the context of
journalistic reporting, which is granted by article 28(1) of the Swiss copyright law (URG),
which itself is based on international copyright law, specifically article 10bis(2)
of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Suggested citation:
Bosibori Osusu: Is greenhouse produce toxic? MissionField News (ISSN 2813-2270)
https://missionfield.news/2024/5_Greenhouse
2024-03-07.