Smart farms

: 11 October 2021; Hits: 5776

Kenyan nut manufacturers seek local farmers as import costs soar

By George Munene

In 2019 Kenya imported groundnuts worth Sh303 million, majorly from Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.

To meet the nut deficit for both domestic and industrial use, the country’s nut manufacturing companies are urging farmers especially in regions of the country such as Western Kenya, with perfect growing conditions suited to the crop who often struggle with poor prices from the moribund sugar sector to consider the underserved and ready nut market.

“We have a guaranteed market for our farmers and the prices we offer are based on the world market standard—the price per bag of groundnuts has not dropped below Sh15,000 per bag for years,” says Jackson Masesi, CEO Apiaries International.

The company is working with 400 farmers in Tanzania, a number it projects will grow to 1500 by the end of the year.

“For Kenyan farmers we are currently registering nut farmers with a particular focus on organically grown groundnuts to help meet the perennial shortages we and other nut manufacturers experience forcing us to have to source from other African countries,” the CEO adds.

Despite the lucrative returns farmers can accrue from groundnut farming middlemen often make majority of the profit off farmers, a situation the company hopes to remedy by working directly with them.

The Nakuru based food manufacturer is contracting 2000+ groundnut farmers in Busia, Baringo, West Pokot and Elgeyo Marakwet counties. The farmers are receiving certified seeds, fertilisers, agro-chemicals, beehives and fungicides to aid in their production. The company has also dispatched field officers who ensure the farmers conduct proper land preparation and crop husbandry.

Groundnuts have a fast maturity rate of 90-100 days, with a hectare of certified seeds in areas with favorable topography producing between 20-25 bags.

In 2019, the Kenyan government aided by the European Union Market Access Upgrade Program (MARKUP) started a nut market access update program in 21 counties in a bid to boost nut production in the country.

Apiaries International: 0720420514/0774823750

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: 11 October 2021; Hits: 23255

Little upkeep, lucrative returns: Why galla goats are a perfect side venture

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By George Munene

Mcharo Mbogho’s word of advice for any would be goat breeder is that they need an abiding passion for the animals and the art, without which they won’t weather the tough times that alternate with the good in goat farming.

In three location in Taita-Taveta County, he has 450 heads of mostly female galla goats— at least 150 at each site. Having lost 300 goats in 2017 to CCP, Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia, and acute drought, he’s opted to house them in different locations to spread out his risk.

His first herd consists of does who make up his breeding stock. They range in age 1-3 or 4 years at a push, before he disposes of them. Every five months he has at least 100-200 kids. He lets them suckle for 3-4 months (the few weaker kids are left to stay with their mothers a bit longer) before weaning them off. If you allow, some kids will suckle for up to six months. This prevents the mother from coming on heat once again and isn’t workable in commercial goat farming.

After the 3 months the ewes are usually depleted, they lose a lot of weight catering to their kids and they become brittle due to calcium lost via colostrum. He leaves them free to graze and build up mass, free of any kids or bucks. He practices oestrus synchronisation, ensuring all his goats come on heat at the same time.

At month five, he introduces new bucks into the herd for the tupping season (borrowed from sheep farming) between June and July. This sets up his does to give birth over the rainy season, November and December, when the pastures are lush and plentiful. One male buck caters to about 30 does; for his 150 does, he uses 5 bucks. He rotates them every mating season, sourced from across the country to avoid any chance of inbreeding.

His second herd consists of 9-12 year olds. From here, he selects the very best as his next personal breeding stock or to sell off to other breeders. Every week or so, he sells at least one goat to be butchered. These are usually the goats he opts to dispose of because of deformities, i.e. having a single testicle, gimpy foot, poor tit formation, awkward horns, poor body formation or for aesthetics— his preferred coat colouring for gallas is white with a bit of brown. He doesn’t settle on the goats he will use for breeding until they are at least 8-9 months old, as, at that age, they are mature enough to determine which meet his stringent standard to be chosen as future breeding stock. He usually only sells yearlings as breeders.

In his last herd, he houses goats that have been weened. The usually range between 4-9 months in age.

His main costs of production are disease management. He vaccinates his animals bi-annually at a cost of Sh100 for every animal. His grazing land is also next to the Tsavo East National Park, which means that every once in a while he loses some goats to lion attacks The county government also charges Sh50 for every goat that leaves the county. Accounting for all his overheads—vaccination, staff payment, weekly dipping costs, Mcharo says he will, at most, spend Sh3,000 on every goat yearly.

After all his costs, he sells does at Sh8,000; bucks that are 9-12 months old for Sh12,000, and those that are 12-13 months old for Sh15,000.

His main customer base has come through word-of-mouth customer referrals, but he works in Nairobi and movement restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 saw him absent from his farm longer than he had anticipated. This proved a veiled blessing as he advertised his business online and has sold 150 goats in just 3 weeks across the country. The ad even brought him one order of 100 goats from a buyer in Uganda and interest from as far out as Sudan.

Mcharo says though he can keep up to 400 goats for every herd he is keen not to overgraze and degrade the environment. He has 165 acres of his own and access to 2,000 acres of communal land and has his sights set on expanding his heard to at least 1000 goats.

Mcharo Mbogho: 0722368000

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: 10 October 2021; Hits: 5495

700+ Laikipia women find employment in cacti & aloe value addition

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By George Munene

Laikipia Permaculture Center (LPC) a community-based Trust has created employment for over 700 women in the county of Laikipia by engaging them in value addition of cacti and aloe vera by-products.

Founded in 2014 as a partnership of four women groups from Laikipia, the center has helped women harness the economic benefits of this untapped venture through value addition and linking them to export markets.

“At its founding, the trust sought to figure out ways of easing pressure caused by overgrazing in most of the country’s arid and semi-arid regions and also give the women in the area economic independence,” explains Joseph Lentunyoi, one of the group's founders.

LPC propagates aloe secundiflora variety seedlings, an aloe species indigenous to the region and sells them to the women at a cost of Sh80 each.

“LPC has really aimed at fully utilizing cacti and aloe plants in this region. For instance, the cacti fruit is used to make wine. Through us, the women also export fresh Aloe leaves to the United Kingdom at $10 per kilo of leaves.

Aloe value addition is done by sun-drying and grinding the leaves to make powder sold for Sh1000 per kilo, the gel inside is extracted to make aloe juice packaged in 500ml Sh400 bottles whilst the plant’s sap is also used as an ingredient in the making of cosmetic products such as soap sold locally at Sh100 per100 grams, cream and shampoos at Sh200 per 100 grams and aloe tea sold at Sh500 per 500 grams.

Aloes are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora; the trust has partnered with KWS to acquire permits to grow and sell seedlings as well as export aloe leaves and their byproducts.

The cactus is an invasive shrub that has been a thorn in the side of herders with their sweet spiky fruits causing the death of many of their livestock as well as reducing the quality and size of grazing land available. The women groups are however harnessing its nutritional value (low saturated fats, high vitamin A and C content, high magnesium and calcium and iron content making it an antioxidant that helps prevent cancer and other lifestyle diseases) of cacti fruits in the making of jams, juices, wine, yoghurt, honey and oils.

Cactus fruits are plucked and their spikes scrapped off, they are stored and sold to LPC at Sh500 a crate. At an agro-processing plant at Jua Kali, Laikipia, the fruits are blended and separated from their seeds. For winemaking, one liter of cactus pulp is diluted into three liters of water and pastoralized to 75 degrees, cooled to 45 degrees before adding wine yeast and fermented for 14 days. The wine is again pastoralized to before being packaged as a final product.

With the success of Laikipia Permaculture Center. the trust aims to expand the scope of its partner to women in neighboring Isiolo and Samburu counties.

“Aside from value addition of the crops, we also get the women engaged in rearing kienyeji chicken and rabbits, bread making and in the construction of modern natural cob houses from sand, straw and clay,” adds Joseph

Laikipia Permaculture Centre: 0727 845 123/0702 095 644/0726 787 085/0736053985

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