During the December 2025 school break, the Founder of Patmos Cottage School, Mr. Richard Wanjala Manya, travelled to Kitale in the Trans Nzoia District to visit the school maize farm.  Richard negotiated the rental of 4 acres of land for 2026 and this land as in previous years will be planted with maize and intercropped with beans.  There was heavy rainfall in the district during the Christmas period and farmers have just started the first ploughing of the fields to prepare the land for planting that happens in March and April.  The maize and beans harvest in November 2025 yielded 84 x 90 Kg sacks of maize and 6 x 90 Kg sacks of beans.

 

In late April Richard visited the maize farm to check on the progress of the maize crop.  This year unlike previous years, beans will not be intercropped with the maize.  Instead it was decided to plant the beans after the maize harvest so as to provide the beans with more space and light and hopefully this will result in a higher yield of beans. 

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In late June during the school break, Richard visited the school maize farm to check on the progress of the maize crop.  Richard reported that June had been a particularly dry month with no rain at all resulting in the maize drying out earlier than would be expected.  Unfortunately for those maize farmers who had delayed the planting of their maize crop it has meant that their crop has been completely destroyed by the drought.  The second season bean planting is also now delayed as farmers have to wait for rain in order to do the necessary land preparation.  It is therefore predicted that the yield this year especially in the Trans-Nzoia County where intensive maize and bean planting is predominantly carried out, that it will result in a poor harvest.   Fortunately because our farm workers planted our maize crop early, there is a good chance that if it rains in the next few weeks that the maize crop will do better than expected.   It will also mean that they will be able to prepare the land ahead of planting the second season bean crop.

 

​The school maize farm has been in operation since 2010 with the first harvest in 2011. The maize and beans grown at the school maize farm are used to support the School Feeding Program which helps to provide a daily nutritious meal for all the children as well as a breakfast of porridge.  The SFP helps to encourage high enrollment and attendance and is vital in assisting food-insecure households in Mathare.  Often the meals provided at the school are the only reliable source of food for many of the children. ​ 

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​​​​To Read more about the school maize farm

click here

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​To read about the maize harvest in 2025 click here

To read about the maize harvest in 2024 click here

To read about the maize harvest in 2023 click here

To read about the maize harvest in 2022 click here

To read about the maize harvest in 2021 click here

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