Farmers reap from high demand for medicinal plant

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By JOHN SHILITSA

Posted  Sunday, July 14  2013 at  16:46

Farmers in Western Kenya are cashing in on the high demand for fast-maturing spirulina plant that is rich in proteins and is being recommended to people living with HIV.Growing in alkaline waters, it takes about 72 hours to mature. It is ground and sold for Sh10 per gramme.

Prof Aseneth Sigot, a lead researcher and don at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, says spirulina’s qualities are fast catching the attention of researchers and industrialists across the world.

 “We recommend it to people living with HIV because it has three times proteins more than soya bean, a crop that possesses slightly more than 65 per cent of the nutrient,” said Prof Sigot.

Spirulina has low fat, low calorie and cholesterol and contains essential amino acids, the don told Business Daily, adding it can be grown in ponds measuring an average 3x5metres.
“Land has reduced considerably in this area due to sub-division and cultural laws.”

Indangalasia Community HIV/Aids Resource Centre’s Jafred Nambala says some of his members have embraced the plant because of its nutritional value.

“We have over 400 orphans who are under our care and almost half of them are HIV positive. Some are on ARVs but find spirulina food supplements of great help,” says Mr Nambala.

Ms Peris Awinja, who uses the supplement, said “immediately I was introduced to spirulina, my CD4 count which had dropped to a paltry 34, rose 99 per cent.”

The organisation distributes spirulina products free of charge to members and children who are HIV-positive and even non-members. Mr Nambala says the organisation sells one gramme of spirulina powder at Sh10 while Masinde Muliro sells the same quantity for Sh20.

Spirulina grows naturally in mineral-rich alkaline lakes with largest concentrations found at Lake Texcoco in Mexico, around Lake Chad in Central Africa and along the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.

Farmers mix salt with clean water in the ponds within a greenhouse for the plant to start growing. The water is changed every fortnight to keep pests and diseases at bay. Drying the plant takes between two and three-days, but it should not be exposed to direct sunlight that reduces its nutritional value.

Prof Sigot said some homes have started using the plant as vegetable.

Kenya, she says, could save billions of shillings used to import fertiliser and drugs if the country heavily invested in spirulina farming.  

“The venture is quite lucrative; in countries like Thailand and Taiwan, it is a multi-billion industry that has created job opportunities and reduced food insecurity.” 

In Kenya, aggressive spirulina farming takes place at Dunga beach in Kisumu and Masinde Muliro University in Kakamega, but financial constraints were a hurdle, she said.

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