Special Report:PASSIFLORA EDULIS [PASSION FRUITS] AT KELMA FARM

Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.- Proverbs 20:4.

Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful and most noble employment of man. When tillage begins, other arts follow. Farming is a profession of hope. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization. Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you’re a thousand miles from the cornfield. No race can prosper until it learns there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem. 

If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right. The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings. Agriculture not only gives riches to a nation but the only riches she can call her own.

Agriculture is the noblest of all alchemy; for it turns earth and even manure, into gold, conferring upon its cultivator the additional reward of health. A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus. We have to bring children into a new relationship to food that connects them to culture and agriculture. 

Farming isn’t a battle against nature but a partnership with it. It is respecting the basics of nature in action and ensuring that they continue.

Farming isn’t something that can be taught. Each plant tells its own story that has to be read repeatedly. ''Frankly, any city person who doesn’t think I deserve a white-collar salary as a farmer doesn’t deserve my special food''-Joel Salatin. One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.

Fruit is nature’s candy. Fruit is the spirit of joy. A piece of fruit a day keeps the doctor away. The fruit derived from labor is one of the sweetest pleasures. Reaping the fruits of one’s labor can be literal. The joy and satisfaction of cooking with fruits and vegetables one harvested from one’s farm is heartwarming. 

If you really want to eat, keep climbing. The fruits are on the top of the tree. Stretch your hands and keep stretching them. Success is on the top, keep going. Nothing comes as an accomplishment instantly. Success does not come overnight. Patience is the key! Grow up and be the tree; but remember it takes dry and wet seasons to become a fruit bearer, achiever and impact maker! 

Passion fruits farming at Kelma Farm and Orchard is highly given a priority and as a result they're thriving at a great deal.

We plant yellow passion fruit variety and as of now, we can't satisfy the market demand both locally, nationally and internationally. 

In a few months' time we will be harvesting passion fruits in quantities of tonnes. Our region has acidic soils that are ideal for growing the sweet fruits. This is an opportunity many in this vicinity needs to understand and grab that untapped opportunity by developing enthusiasm in agriculture, for food security and to meet their livelihoods.