Ken the farmer

14/05/2026

13/05/2026

“The teacher made an expensive experiment”

When I started propagating tomato seedlings for business, I decided to experiment with different tray sizes instead of following only theory. I bought 50 holes, 105 holes, 128 holes and 200 holes trays just to compare the results.

The difference became very clear.
The seedling in my left hand came from a 105-hole tray while the one in my right hand came from a 200-hole tray. The mistake was not really the tray itself, but the way I arranged them. I kept many 200-hole trays too close together, reducing proper light pe*******on. Because of that, the seedlings stretched too much searching for light and became tall and weak.

The second mistake was placing the trays directly on the soil while spraying Agro Starter foliar fertilizer. The roots penetrated into the soil underneath and started feeding directly from there. This made the seedlings become too active and grow aggressively, yet they were supposed to remain controlled nursery seedlings meant for sale.

In the end, I even failed to campaign for them properly and started with very large numbers, so most of these seedlings may end up being transplanted into my own farm .

The good thing is the seedlings sold so far have already covered the expenses, so the lesson came with experience instead of total loss.

Sometimes my curiosity is so wild it gives both my “enemies” and village witches plenty to laugh about.

~Village-based investor(VBI)

13/05/2026

Who can remember this 33HP water pump I installed on the farm where I used to grow onions in South Sudan?

Well, as I type this, that pump is probably resting somewhere inside River Nile.

After the floods swept through the whole farm, maybe some parts even travelled to different countries by water.

But that’s not the main point.
For those planning to start farming, understand this clearly: farming is a business of patience and long-term thinking.

There are fixed assets you must invest in pumps, pipes, generators, drip systems, fencing and many more. Some of these things can take more than two seasons before you fully recover their cost.

One mistake many beginners make is expecting to recover all their investment money in one season. That mindset alone can frustrate you very quickly.
A good season can recover part of the money and keep the project moving, then the next seasons continue building the business. That is how many successful farms grow slowly over time.

So if you entered farming expecting instant millions after one harvest, please wake up, go p*e and read this again.

Thank you very important!

Class dismissed

13/05/2026

Few years ago vs now.

Same person, same field, different times.

Before harvesting these bulb onions some years back, many people advised me to go back to my engineering job. They said farming was stressing me too much and even my body was showing it.

What they didn’t know is that once I commit to something, I stay with it through both the good and difficult times. Farming became part of me.

But to be fair, the old me really needed some serious rest too.

Looking at these two pictures today makes me proud because the journey was not easy, but we thank God for growth, experience and better days ahead.

And one thing is clear, whoever marries this gentleman is safe. He knows how to stay loyal to one thing for a very long time, before crop rotation and different farms in different countries

~Village-based investor (VBI)

12/05/2026

I know some of you are wondering why I haven’t posted any current farm updates today.

A few days ago I bought a water dispenser and put on a 20L water bottle. I was very happy thinking the villager is finally transforming slowly into a city boy.

Now yesterday at night, while sleeping facing the sky in my birthday suit, the dispenser suddenly swallowed water with a very scary sound.

Bro! I jumped on the wrong side of the bed and hit the wall hard. Right now my forehead is looking like I went for Forehead BBL.

But aside from that, I still have this Kenyan tomato variety available here in The Gambia.

Look how it performed last season on my farm. This picture was taken less than 2 months after transplanting. The fruits were big, oval-shaped, hard, and very market friendly.

Reach out to my team via +2203155960 for quality seedlings before I recover fully .

~Village-based investor (VBI)

12/05/2026

It’s 6pm and I’m seated somewhere in an undisclosed location sipping something cold.

My mind keeps reminding me that the biggest enemy is hunger.

Most of us wake up every day to work not for luxury, but simply to put food on the table, for ourselves, our families, and sometimes even people depending on our support.

Food issues should not only be discussed in board meetings using nice English terms. They should also reflect on the farms and in the lives of the farmers producing that food.

Thank you very important!

~Village-based investor (VBI)

12/05/2026

When the farm stress starts making my mind feel like skipping out of my head, I normally visit my friends at Bijilo Monkey Park here in The Gambia.

Funny enough, when entering the park I mostly see couples walking in together while I enter alone. But these monkeys always make me happy, and they also get excited seeing the farmer arrive with goodies.

I depend on ladies brought by their boyfriends to help take my pictures because somehow I attract the biggest number of monkeys. People gather around just to see and touch them.

And if that evolution story from monkeys to humans is true, then the guy sitting on my right shoulder eating banana is definitely my relative. We even have the same forehead and the same love for ripe bananas.

~Village-based investor (VBI)

12/05/2026

They say curiosity killed the cat, but I believe the cat never died, it just moved to soft life far away from doubters.

Years ago I planted apple trees in Mchoka Bure village, Kenya. People laughed at me. Some villagers said I was wasting time. The chief’s daughter even told me that by the time the apples fruit, we would all be walking with sticks because of old age.

But curiosity and the love of trying new things kept me going.

To my surprise, the apples performed well even without proper care. We started eating fruits from the same trees people doubted within 2 years. Later, I discovered that pruning and defoliating the trees made them flower heavily.

Today, when people give directions to my home, they say: “That home that has apples.”

And honestly, that feels good.

The funniest part is that the chief’s daughter is now studying a health-related course to become a doctor,meanwhile they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

~Village-based investor (VBI)

12/05/2026

Back in primary school during GHC studies, we used to answer that famous first question .

“Use a string to measure the road on the map and mention activities taking place in the village.”

Most of the villages had two things: Farming and the chief’s office.you remember?

Funny enough, farming became my real life and the same strings we used in class are now helping me trellis coloured sweet pepper in greenhouses.

Today those strings help me:
• Keep fruits off the ground
•Make spraying and management easier
• Reduce diseases
• Support heavy fruit load

Life really has a way of connecting childhood lessons to reality.

About the chief’s office part, I’m still preparing to take over Mchoka Bure village one day .

As chief, I’ll make sure villagers get greenhouse support, cold rooms for storage, and proper education about high-value crop production because many people still don’t know that special seeds exist for these premium varieties.

~Village-based investor (VBI)

12/05/2026

Monkey business