Not Only is the Eggplant Profitable but also Good for your Health

How do you like your food flavored? Personally, I prefer natural flavors and one of my best all-time spices is the eggplant, which can also be referred to as Solanum melongena. In Kenya, we call it ‘Biringanya’ or ‘Brinjal’.

The eggplant can be used differently depending on one’s preference which includes being a flavor in food as I had earlier stated, or using it for making a salad or even cooking to be taken as vegetables.

Eggplants belong to the nightshade family of the vegetables which comprise of the tomatoes, potatoes and sweet pepper. It grows exactly like the tomatoes, hanging from vines of the plant. Eggplant has a pleasantly bitter taste and a spongy texture.

The eggplant crop comes in different colors that include white, purple and green, adding aesthetic value to one’s farm. The purple variety is common in Kenya.

Instead of consuming eggplants from the market, one may also be interested in knowing the process of planting it. This is because it has a good market and not is it profitable in Kenya but also in the international market. Why not try it as a means of income? Can we do it? Yes, let us do it!

Before anything else, one needs to get the correct seeds which are to be planted on seed-beds before being transferred to the farm.

The seeds germinate in 7 – 14 days depending on the heat and the moisture content.

“The soil should be mixed with well-composted manure before planting the seeds. Then the beds should be watered every day to make the seeds sprout from the soil, which happens after 10 days.”

Eggplant becomes ready in three months, and for one to know when the plant is fully mature, it develops a glossy dark-purpled skin.

Harvest is done 16 to24 weeks after sowing when the skin of the fruit is shiny and unwrinkled. Generally, early short duration varieties yield about 25 to 30 tonnes and long duration up to 45 tonnes.

As a farmer, it is important to note that eggplants should be harvested when the fruits appear glossy because when it is left on the farm, they will end up developing some green patches that put off buyers.

This crop is very profitable as a kilogram retails for between 40 shillings and 70 shillings, depending on demand. Each fruit can as well be sold for between 10 shillings and 30 shillings. A serious farmer can be making as much as 10,000 shillings every month from eggplants whose seeds cost only 200 shillings.

Brinjal is drought-tolerant, thus it can thrive well in areas with hot weather. It does well in parts of lower Eastern, Rift Valley, and Nyanza.

With size parameters varying with each variety of eggplant, growth conditions, maturation periods and coloration are some of the factors to look into before choosing any of our varieties below:

• The oval to oblong eggplant produces large, oval-shaped, purplish to black eggplants.
• The Japanese eggplant matures fast, producing long slender fruits.
• The small-fruited eggplant blossoms into green fruits, including white lavender and purple varieties.
• There are also novelty eggplants that include such unusual types as orange Turkish eggplant, green Thai eggplant, and the egg-shaped eggplant.

There a number of health benefits from the Eggplant. They are a true source of fibers and acids for digestion. The former provides the body with sufficient roughage for proper digestion and bowel movement. Fiber also stimulates the secretion of gastric juices that facilitate absorption of nutrients and the processing of foods.

Other health benefits include the following:

Anemia prevention: Since deficiency of iron poses a danger to especially expectant women, as it manifests as anemia, consumption of eggplant is necessary for it fosters the body with the missing iron deposits that help form the red blood cells.

Brain and aural function: as a rich source of phytonutrients, consumption of Kenya eggplant or any other eggplant will improve recognition functions and will improve nerve communication. The brain also requires sufficient blood to function, and with the potassium component, eggplant helps boost brain abilities to see detail, boost memory and enhance other functions.

In weight loss:  Fat burning is a must-have in any health list out there and since eggplant has no trace of fat, it is well placed to not only curb weight gains but reduce obesity.

Fights diabetes: with its low soluble carbs, eggplant is ideal for diabetes management.  The fruit regulates glucose and insulin activity within the body.

Curbs birth defects:  Expectant mothers need high levels of folic acid to buffer the fetus against neural tube defects.  With their high folic acid levels, eggplants combine into a ready, nutritional snack when expecting.

For perfect bone health: Eggplants have sufficient dosage of iron and calcium minerals that aid in bone formation.

In cancer prevention:  as an anti-oxidant, eggplant consists of chlorogenic acid which is a powerful aid in eradicating free radicals in the fight against cancer.