Smart farms

: 12 November 2020; Hits: 10588

Kisumu farmer triples income through Okra value addition for export

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By George Munene

Low market prices can leave small scale farmers frustrated, but one Kisumu okra farmer has proven that simple value addition of valuable crop can triple his farming income with just one harvesting period.

With a short shelf life of seven to ten days, small scale farmers of this crop find it difficult to own cold rooms due to their exorbitant prices. This is where Paul Ochieng saw an opportunity- sun drying. Which has enabled him to export six kilos of dried okra weekly to South Sudan at a price of Sh100 per kilo, compared to other farmers who fetch just Sh80 for the fresh produce locally.

The annual post-harvest losses of fresh horticultural crops in Kenya are estimated at more than 50 per cent according to a 2010 research by The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Space and facilities to handle food products, especially fresh produce remain insufficient. This results in high levels of waste and spoilage dwindling farmers’ income.

“What opened my eyes in the drying of okra was when I met South Sudanese students from the Great Lakes University of Kisumu (GLUK) in 2016 who were buying the produce to trade back home. We agreed on a purchase price of Sh100 per kilo, Sh20 more than what Kisumu traders gave,” says Paul.

Due to the good quality of Paul’s okra plant and high demand for the plant back in S. Sudan, the purchase price of a kilo moved from Sh100 per kilo to Sh300 per kilo—this was triple the initial agreement.

To prepare the fruit for drying Paul cuts the vegetable into slices of 1- 4 cm cross length and spreads them on hot rocks about 10:00 am in the morning when the rocks are already heated by the facilitating for speedy drying.

“In India, where okra is highly consumed, farmers often dry the produce using hot air driers or microwaves, but for me, I take advantage of the rocks in my homestead since I leave close Kit Mikayi a famous tourist attraction site,” he adds.

Despite exporting it as flour, Ochie’ng is paid in fresh weight. 150 kilos of fresh okra can produce about three kilos of flour which is packed in bags. This has reduced transport costs by almost 75 per cent.

“The high yielding "Pusa sawani" okra variety I grow matures in 45 to 55 days. I harvest 350kg a week; 300kg is turned into flour (about 6kg) for export to S. Sudan at Sh300 per kilo of fresh weight with the remaining 50kg supplied as fresh produce to Kisumu City’s Jubilee Market at Sh80 a kilo.” The farmer explained. This translates to Sh94,000 gross income a week and Sh367,000 a month.

He says the harvesting period of okra being three months, at the end of every season he earns a gross of Sh1,128,000.

The students have also opened a restaurant within GLUK, making and serving okra flour chapatis and snacks to the many South Sudanese and other students in the campus. This has meant Paul continually increase his production to match rising demand.

Paul Otieno +254 769 559687

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Saturday, 21 November 2020 Fantastic.

: 30 October 2020; Hits: 15276

Nandi farmer’s politics failure births 200 chickens, 70 sheep farm

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By George Munene

Nicholas Kibet readily admits that he fell back on farming as a last resort. After taking a failed stab at politics in 2017—the 29 year old resident of Kapsabet town had been a candidate for the member of county assembly seat—he’d spent most of his savings and in his own words; ”Maisha ilikuwa imekuwa ngumu.”

One thing he still had though was land, and farming with its low barrier of entry provided him with an opportunity to build from having five chickens to now a flock of more than 200 and some 70 doper sheep.

He supplies 10 chicken daily to a local restaurant, and hatches on average 100 chicks every month. He also sells at least two rams each for between Sh8000-10,000 every month.

His reasoning for opting for pure kienyeji chicken: “The local demand for kienyeji chicken is insatiable; they are hardy—resistant to most diseases and thrive fed on a little In the way of commercial feeds.”

For his 200 mature birds he says, eight kilograms of feed is all he needs for them in the morning before free ranging them on his one acre farm for the rest of the dayHis mature bird are fed on layers mash, two 50 kilogram bags at a cost of Sh5000 last his 100 birds one month .His chickens reach three kilograms at a timely six months when he sells them in bulk at a local hotel for Sh700 or for Sh1000-900 to individual buyers. Chicks, more than grown chickens are the real money makers he says: one-day old chicks go for Sh100, two-month-olds for Sh250-200 while four month old sell for Sh450-400. A 50kg chick mash bag goes for between Sh2,000 and 2,500 and feeds 100 of his chick for a month.

“In all the years I have been raising kienyeji chicken, given they are well vaccinated and regularly dewormed the only cause of disease I can think off is housing them in an unclean, unaerated coop. Deworming at the first month and every two or three months is paramount too, given free ranged chicken go about ingesting most of everything they come across,” Nicholas advices. His routine vaccinations constitute Newcastle at three weeks and fowl pox on the first month.

His sheep project he says was birthed from the success of his poultry business. “Whatever profits I made from my chicken, I made sure to save some Sh10,000-5,000 every week which Id earmarked as starting capital for my sheep business; with the success of the poultry side of things it was far easier to start up he says.

Starting off with three indigenous sheep he’s just finished construction of a new modern shed housing 70 sheep, 40 of which are pure-line dopers. “The doper is hardy, is a light to moderate eater consuming about sven kilograms daily and a fast maturer that gathers weight quickly. Compared to other breeds its mutton also doesn’t have any characteristic sheep’s smell making it a favourite for consumers.” “The market appetite is certainly there,” he says. With standing orders from as far as Nairobi for one day old sheep at Sh3000; thus far, the business is proving more than a good bet. He grazes his sheep on forest land supplementing them with bhoma rhodes hay and 5 kilograms of dairy meal twice every week.

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: 28 October 2020; Hits: 10492

Halt in miraa exports grounds Sh16M daily trade

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By George Munene

Before the first case of Corona virus was reported in the country on 13^th March, 50 tonnes of khat worth Sh16 million was shipped daily to Somalia from Igembe’s three main miraa growing regions; Meru North, South and Central.

An agricultural sector that is the main source of livelihood for up to 50,000 households has ground to a halt; with no end in sight for the pain that miraa farmers have endured for the last eight months.

“Schools are just now reopening, my members are going to seek for soft loans SACCOS would usually easily advance to them, but are being turned down. The picking, packaging and transport costs for miraa are about Sh1000/kg; local markets are oversupplied –you’ll get no more than Sh1000 for the same. It is not a question of how much less farmers are earning, there just is nothing to earn,” says Kimathi Munjuri, chairman of the 38,000 registered member, Nyambene Miraa Traders Association.

With the onset of rains, miraa in shambas is now more prolific than ever. The government’s forever delayed promise of having the situation resolved means farmers have to reach into their own pockets to cover for harvests with money they barely have to help maintain their trees. What was once one of Kenya’s most lucrative crops— within the country, a kilogram of kangeta fetched Sh2000 and that of kisa Sh3000; exports, done in 100 kilogram bundles fetched Sh20,000 each— now serves as no more than mulch for shambas.

The situation for miraa farmers looks even grimmer owing to a diplomatic impasse with Somalia which is seeking formal redress from Kenya over:

Its violation of Somalia’s airspace
Kenya’s perceived interference in Somalia’s internal affairs and its treatment of Somalia as a smaller brother rather than equal
Kenya’s allowing in Somalian goods such as fish, rice, honey, meat and milk
Stopping the mandatory spot check of Somali flights at Wajir for inspection

This has allowed Ethiopia to steal a march on Kenya and begin exporting its khat into Somalia. This worries Kimathi—“as Somalian khat consumers acquire a taste for Ethiopian miraa, Kenyan farmer face the prospect of losing the market completely,” he warns.

The halt in business has left the towns of Laare, Mutuati and Maua as ghost towns and the multiplier effects on the wider economy of the region are only just beginning to be felt.

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