Fredrick Gitau has fond memories of small-scale farming from his childhood. He and his seven siblings were educated through the proceeds from the sale of tomatoes.
His family used to earn some money every three months. He recalls how his father was a well-known tomato farmer in Subukia, Nakuru County.
Having witnessed first-hand how lucrative tomato cultivation was in the 1980s, it was easy for Gitau to be enticed to delve into that wing of horticulture. His dream was to be as successful as his father was.
“Tomatoes were among my first crops when I began farming,” he says. Upon trying his hand at growing tomatoes, his high hopes appeared to be dashed. He abandoned the crop. “Tuta Absoluta emerged,” he says. “I didn’t possess knowledge regarding the pest.”
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