Watermelon Farming in Drought-Prone Mwingi Kenya Transforms Livelihoods as Vendors Whistle for Customers
Watermelon farming in drought-prone Mwingi Kenya is helping farmers earn up to Sh400,000 per acre. Vendors along the Garissa-Mwingi highway sell the fruit for at least Sh200 each.
In Malaani Township along the Garissa-Mwingi highway, frenzied whistling greets motorists. It signals fresh watermelon.
“We whistle to draw motorists’ attention, who are our main customers,” says Fridah Muema, a vendor, handing out slices. A small bite melts into refreshing, hydrating juice.
Regulars stop for the sweetness.
Muema, a mother of three, was the first watermelon vendor here. Trading starts slowly in December, peaks in May–June, and lingers into August.
A watermelon goes for at least Sh200, depending on size. “On a good day, I make up to Sh4,000. The money supports my children’s education and family upkeep,” says Grace Muange, a vendor who buys from local farmers.
The growing production of watermelons around Malaani Township has strained the traditional marketing model, which relies heavily on middlemen. Traders who buy the fruit in bulk for resale in Garissa, Kitui, Mwingi, Nairobi, and Thika markets tend to exploit farmers at peak production. This is why selling the fruit by the roadside remains popular.
“Middlemen offer Sh35 for a fruit weighing five kilos. The same fruit goes for Sh200 on the roadside,” said Muange.
Over the years, Muema has built a network in Garissa County. “One customer orders at least Sh5,000 worth per week for juice. These networks keep my business afloat.”
Brisk trade
The brisk trade signals a climate-smart shift across Mwingi region in Kitui County. The area rarely gets enough rain for maize, the staple. Crop failures have worsened.
Farmers have switched to cowpea, mung beans, pearl millet, and watermelon. Others keep goats.
“We learned the hard way,” says Ngui Nzilu, a farmer in Maseveseveni Village, Mwingi North. He grows cowpeas, mung beans, sorghum and pearl millet on three acres, plus goats.
“Growing maize is a big gamble.”
The agrarian revolution across Mwingi is also visible in the trucks leaving open-air markets loaded with mung beans in May and June. Authorities say this wave is the result of years of climate-smart farming campaigns promoting drought-tolerant crops and early planting.
Through the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), the national and Kitui county governments work with the Kenya Red Cross and the Meteorological Department. “We sit regularly with communities to anticipate climate risks,” says Eunice Mutuku, NDMA head in Kitui County. “With below-average rainfall forecasts, we advise farmers to plant drought-tolerant crops early.”
A key element is attitude change. Kaningo Chief Samson Syengo recalls pearl millet thriving before being pushed out by maize, and now making a comeback. “We used pearl millet flour for porridge and ugali. The meals are back after decades. Indigenous crops like cowpeas and pearl millet are highly nutritious, especially for children and lactating mothers.”
Watermelon production here relies exclusively on rainfall, unlike other belts. Farmers have found watermelon needs little rain; once it establishes soil cover with tendrils and leaves, evaporation drops significantly. Watermelon matures in at most two months.
Muema and Muange are among the smallholder farmers who have discovered that watermelon has more economic value compared to other drought-tolerant crops. “An acre of watermelon can earn up to Sh400,000 in a good season. Maize, cowpeas, mung bean and pearl millet farmers can only dream of this income,” Muema says.
By Pius Maundu
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