The Round Vegetable in our Food Basket

We are a food basket. We feed ourselves as we do African, Arabian, Asian and European states. One vegetable that adds essential value to our basket is cabbage. Nyandarua county is the leading producer of the cabbages we enjoy every day in our homes. With more and more areas being set aside for the growth of vegetables, Nyandarua-based farmers have taken time to invest in becoming the top producers of cabbage locally. You can find the purple-blue variety classified as ‘red cabbage’ or white cabbages, which are more popular locally.

Red cabbages are a key ingredient in most salads and have a great deal of health benefits. The red cabbage contains anthocyanin – a plant pigment that gives red, blue and purple plants their colour. Anthocyanin has antioxidant properties, enhancing our immunity against various diseases.

Then there are white cabbages, which are cooked to perfection in majority of our houses and go well with any starchy meal. They can weigh up to four kilograms at harvest but, like some fruits, have a particular season during which they thrive. This particular crop requires income for investment as it must be grown on large farms due to the space it occupies. Cabbages should ideally be planted 30 centimetres apart from each other.

Kenya’s cabbages are sold on a few online platforms for export. Young farmers, through the assistance of Mkulima Young, are being informed on the strategic ways to plant these vegetables for local and international markets.

Hong Kong is enjoying Kenya’s cabbages, exporting an average of 88 tonnes annually. Maldives, Iceland and Malaysia have also turned to Kenya for both fresh and chilled cabbage. Within Africa, we send some across our western border to Uganda and further south to Rwanda.