Moses Marimi: How a Kenyan Primary School dropout made $35K from growing garlic in four months

For the majority of Kenyans, farming is one of their main sources of income. According to a Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) report on the agricultural sector conducted in January 2023, agriculture contributes for 20% of the nation’s GDP.

Moses Marimi Githaiga, a primary school dropout, and founder of Saumu Centre Limited, a garlic seed production and training hub in Nyeri county, is one of the citizens who rely heavily on agriculture to make ends meet.

Moses Marimi Githaiga was born and raised in Kiawara village in Kieni constituency, Nyeri county, Kenya.

His efforts to finish primary school were unsuccessful. Hence, in order to survive, he began working odd jobs. He struggled to find work and ended himself in Kisumu, where he sold goods. According to Agribusiness TV, he also sharpened knives for people living in the slums of Nyalenda and Manyatta.

Even though he was a hawker, Marimi loved farming. As a result, he occasionally visited the cyber cafe to conduct research on agriculture as he is passionate to learn the science. He chose to put his theoretical knowledge into practice after learning the fundamentals. He then went back to his village. French beans and tomatoes were his first two crops he started with, but they were a failure.

He grew his own garlic seeds at home and cut the maturation time in half, from eight to four months.

One month was spent drying in the sun, followed by chlorine disinfection and organic soap cleaning. The next step was to sprinkle salt on the bulbs to prevent moisture buildup on the surfaces.

He officially started farming in 2012. His initial farm consisted of a quarter-acre plot of ground on which he planted 25 kilograms of garlic.

He collected 800 kilograms in four months and sold each kilo for KSh 100, earning KSh 80,000. His success in the first season prompted him to increase the amount of land under cultivation to one acre in 2013. He gathered 4,800kg during that season, earning him KSh 480,000.

“I earned KSh 4.8 million from 13 acres of garlic farm. But now I vary my planting to supply my clients all year round,” he said.