03/03/2026
Today I was helping a farmer in Taita Taveta who has grown apples. The trees are there, green and healthy looking. From a distance you would think everything is perfect. But when you move closer, you notice something painful the trees are fruiting, yes… but only 2 to 20 fruits on a fully mature tree. A mature apple tree that should be carrying dozens, even over a hundred fruits, is just standing there with 5 apples like it is doing us a favor 😅. And that is the reality many farmers are facing.
The honest truth is this: many people have grown apples, but very few are producing apples. I know this because I was once that farmer. I planted with excitement. I watered faithfully. I waited with hope. When I saw the first small fruits, I celebrated like I had won a tender. But later I realized something planting is easy, production is a science.
Apple farming is not for people who want plant and relax. Apples demand leadership. They need training from a young age. Branches must be guided. Shoots must be bent. Height must be controlled. Pruning must be intentional. If you don’t train an apple tree, it becomes a beautiful bush. And bushes don’t pay school fees.
Another biggest mistakes many farmers are making and I also made is allowing young trees to fruit too early. I understand the joy. You see those small fruits and your heart is full. You start calculating profit before the fruit is even golf-ball size. But allowing a very young tree to carry fruit is like giving adult responsibilities to a small child. The tree uses all its energy to grow fruit instead of building strong roots, a thick trunk, and a solid branch structure. In the future, it becomes weak and unproductive. Yes, the joy of early fruiting is sweet, but the long-term consequences are bitter.
What we are seeing in many farms is not a planting problem. It is a knowledge problem. The trees are there. The effort is there. The investment is there. But mastery is missing. That is why you find a mature tree with only 2 to 20 fruits when it should be heavily loaded. It is not because apples cannot do well. It is because apples require skill, patience, research, and consistent management.
But here is what encourages me apples can thrive in Africa. I have seen it. I have learned through mistakes, losses, and stubborn trees that refused to perform until I understood them. The orchard has been my classroom. And I believe one day we will meet the African demand for apples not by luck, but by knowledge.
So to every farmer reading this:
Don’t just grow apples, master them. Don’t chase early excitement, build strong foundations. And if your trees are giving you only 5 fruits when they should be giving you 100, don’t give up. It may not be a bad variety. It may not even be bad soil. It may just be that the tree needs proper training and a specialist.
We are learning. We are researching. We are practicing with different cultivars. And step by step, we will get there.
One day, Africa will not import apples because we will be producing them professionally, consistently, and confidently.
-farmFruitSeedlings
