Embu, Kenya
I work in large-scale horticultural production, with more than a decade of experience across East Africa. My focus is greenhouse production, mother stock management, crop planning, IPM, and building practical systems that help farms become more consistent, transparent, and easier to manage. My path in horticulture has given me early exposure to responsibilities that many people only meet much later in their careers. I started at Terrasol, where Eva Busa introduced me to growing as a science: observation, record keeping, crop discipline, and the systems a modern farm needs to function well. From there, I moved into roses and cut flowers, where I saw how consistent production can run at scale and gained experience managing crop protection over very large areas. Later, in Ethiopia, I helped build a mother stock production site during an extremely challenging period. That experience taught me how important structure, communication, and calm leadership become when conditions are difficult. I am grateful for the teams I have worked with, and for the team I currently work with. Much of what I know has come from working alongside growers, crop protection teams, production teams, planners, irrigation teams, technical managers, and farm leaders who deal with real production challenges every day. Those experiences have shaped how I think about leadership, systems, and continuous improvement. My current role has strengthened my belief that good production is rarely the result of one big action. It usually comes from many small things being done consistently well: clear planning, reliable data, good communication, practical growing decisions, and teams that understand why the details matter. At the same time, I am studying part-time towards a Master’s in Plant Breeding at Wageningen University & Research. The programme is spread over four years alongside full-time work, allowing me to connect the course directly to practical production challenges. For me, the value of the programme is not only in learning more, but in learning to see more clearly. It is helping me look deeper into the genetics behind the varieties we grow, the statistics that reveal patterns behind biological variation, and the plant pathology we face in greenhouse production. It is also helping me update my knowledge, challenge assumptions, and recognise blind spots in both research and daily production decisions.
Leading the growing and planning departments at one of East Africa’s most productive cutting production farms. Oversee elite mother stock, greenhouse performance, crop protection, and availability forecasting across 20+ hectares. Since joining, my role expanded to include planning coordination, ensuring strategic alignment between production execution and global market demand. Key Achievements: Introduced a dynamic, data-driven availability and planning tool, improving production reliability from our site. Enhanced rooting build up performance through improved coordination between elite, planning and production houses. Reduced chemical use by strengthening IPM protocols with in-house predator insect rearing. Improved pest management by introducing clear supervision metrics and coaching one of East Africa’s most effective crop protection teams. Rolled out Lean Six Sigma tools to improve surface planning, crop scheduling, and post-harvest analysis.
I led the start-up of a new production site in Ethiopia for mother plant cultivation. Oversaw site construction, staffing, and alignment of production to international rooting station expectations. Coordinated with European teams to match technical standards and feedback loops. Key Highlights: Built a modern, auditable mother stock site from scratch, including greenhouses, fertigation, and housing infrastructure. Worked hands-on at Stuttgart rooting station to root poinsettias and geraniums in preparation for transferring production to Ethiopia. Collaborated with SCM and growers to adjust harvest protocols to meet rooting station quality needs. Supervised the setup of Asthor greenhouses and integrated growing systems to meet international audit requirements.
Oversaw rose production in a high-rainfall, high-pressure environment, managing all aspects of growing, crop protection, and team performance. Navigated record rains and a nationwide downy mildew epidemic while maintaining production and quality standards. Key Achievements: Increased average monthly rose production despite extreme climatic and disease challenges. Expanded and formalised the IPM programme; trained spray teams to reduce chemical use while meeting strict market and audit standards through improved record keeping. Maintained one of Kenya’s most effective spray teams through hands-on coaching and daily performance monitoring. Collaborated closely with the MD, gaining advanced knowledge in rose physiology, post-harvest optimisation, and customer requirements. Used clock pricing and feedback data (via CFO reports) to adjust crop performance and growing strategies. Restored and managed a derelict in-house fertiliser recycling unit, improving nutrient recycling efficiency and sustainability. Maintained vase-life testing protocols and scores to ensure that field quality aligned with post-harvest performance expectations. Supported GAP audit readiness and compliance with health and safety standards across departments. Produced weekly performance reports that addressed constraints and drove continuous improvement.
Led the crop protection and irrigation departments for a leading geranium firm (PvH), implementing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and modernising irrigation infrastructure. Key Contributions: Introduced biological control methods and reduced chemical application frequency while maintaining pest thresholds. Proving future viability with IPM approach. Upgraded irrigation systems to improve water use efficiency and crop uniformity. Maintained detailed crop diaries and delivered client reports, improving transparency and traceability. Developed standard procedures for irrigation calibration and spray routines, reducing variability across teams. Supported other departments in daily planning and execution during peak periods.
Running of cashew nut processing factory in Southern Tanzania for export to Europe for thesis in International Agribusiness and Trade bachelor. Was the subject of my Bachelor thesis where I layed out guidelines and operational manual for running a cashew nut factory in southern Tanzania, the first factory of it's kind.