Smart farms

: 23 May 2016; Hits: 32320

High demand for Rhode Hay seeds in Kenya

Hay Geoffrey Rono Narok fodder

Boma Rhode hay farmers in Kenya can now earn both from the hay and seeds, earning almost sh100,000 per acre, thanks to the Kenya Seed Company that is currently buying those seeds for Sh333 per kilo.

Returns

Normally, only 5 kilo of seed is needed per acre with approximated yield of 400 bales. Farmers are likely to harvest 60 kilo of seeds from the same. Selling a bale of Boma Rhode hay for Sh200 and kilo of its seeds for Sh333, a farmer is likely to get total yield of Sh100, 000 per acre which is more than double to compare maize farmers who earn an average of Sh48,000 per acre.

Besides high revenues, Boma Rhode hay has less maintenance costs, with experts estimating total production costs to be up to Sh20,000 per acre.

Growing conditions and production

Boma Rhode hay grows well in well drained fertile soils with less acid. Soils with PH value of 5.5-6 and annual rainfall of at least 800mm is recommended.

In order to produce this type of hay in an acre piece of land, at least 5 kilo of seeds which retails at Sh1000 per kilo is mixed with a kilo of sand before being broadcasted. The seed is best sown on the surface not deeper than 2 cm followed by rolling. Four tonnes of manure or 400kg of DAP; SSP or CAN per acre is applied while planting. In order to guard the hay against possible competition for nutrients with weeds, experts advise planting before the onset rains.

The hay takes up to a week to germinate and 12 weeks to mature. It takes further 2-4 weeks to produce seeds. This means, it takes almost 4 months to harvest the hay and seeds, hence at least three seasons in a year.

For one to be contacted by the Kenya Seed Company, integrity, quality and quantity production is a must. Churchill Kitazi, the Head of Marketing at the Kenya Seed Company in Nakuru, said that the company normally contract farmers with land not less than 50 acres. Small holder farmers must unite to meet the cut if they need to benefit from this lucrative venture.

How to get contacted by the Kenya Seed Company

The farmer must apply to the company by filling the Seed Grower form which can be found on the company’s website. Farmers name, contacts, title deed, gender and age are some of details needed. The farmer must also commit to follow seeds production rules as stipulated in the Seeds and Plant varieties Act of the Kenyan Constitution as well as advice from the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS).

This application can be done online with a farmer required to attach copies of National Identification card, land registration certificate and sketch map of the land. No application fee is required.

Tags: Bhoma Rhodes hay

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: 23 May 2016; Hits: 14314

Farmer milking Sh54,000 monthly from cross-bred cows

A former regional agricultural extension officer is milking at least Sh54,000 per month from well performing and better adopted crossbreed from two superior dairy cattle.

Daudi Orina says upgrading an ayrshire with a friesian gave him strong characteristics for better results at low maintenance costs.

Pure breeds have varied vulnerability to diseases and pests, weather, as well as feeding, among others.

But at the same time, their quality and quantity of produce vary incredibly, therefore, the need to ‘mix the genes’ for average results.

“Mixing blood of the two gives a crossbreed, which has average characteristics. An ayrshire, which has less milk is uplifted by the Friesian which produces more. The thicker milk from ayshire milk will also increase the concentration of the lean Friesian produce,” he says.

Orina, who majorly relies on green fresh feeds, harvests at least 40 litres (40 kilogrammes) of milk every day from his two cross-bred cows. More milk is produced on the immediate months after calving down. One litre fetches Sh45. This translates to Sh54,000 per month.

He has no done complete zero grazing. He allows the animals to graze in the paddocks.

Baptising milk

His morning milk is taken to Nyamira town, which is about 20 kilometres from his farm at Kenyenya.

“I used to keep the evening milk in my cooler to sell the following day. But the growing demand no longer allows me to do that anymore. Customers come in droves. Am forced to ration for each to get something,” he says.

In spite of more farmers yielding more milk around his home, Orina says, ‘baptising’ the produce with water to increase the quantity for the thirsty market reduces quality.

Consumers prefer his milk because of it is not adulterated.

He mainly feeds his cattle on Napier grass from his two-acre plantation and other green matter. About 20 kilogrammes of dry matter or 40 kilogrammes of green feed is sufficient for every cow. Each of the two cattle gets about three kilogrammes of commercial feeds supplements daily.

Pure breeds would require twice or more of this amount of feeds per day.

In his farming, the farmer says, he has been using artificial insemination for more than five years. But the service is not as effective as before.

READ ALSO: Hormonal lift and feeds cure cow 'infertility'

The former head of Agricultural Farmers Cooperation Western Region head says he does multiple AIs for successful fertilisation.

At the same time, cows are taking more than 60 days to be on heat, a factor that is becoming economically non-viable because of low produce.

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: 23 May 2016; Hits: 12680

Poultry farmers increase earnings, tame aflatoxin with low cost organic supplement

Poultry farmers in Kenya are saving up to Sh12,000 on feed costs monthly, increasing the maturity rate of their birds by two and a half weeks and taming the spread of aflatoxins from chicken to humans thanks to a low cost organic supplement that has now caught the attention of Uganda and academic scholars.
Help poultry farmers cut on production costs
Dubbed MolaPlus Poultry Microbes, the solution, which is a form of supplement, is the first of its kind in Kenya and is organic ensuring that the birds and their products are free from chemicals. It has been developed by animal feed manufacturer MolaPlus Limited and comes in the wake of increasing cost of chicken feed and diseases that are taking a toll on poultry farming in the country even as the sector struggles to stoke growing competition from Uganda.
Feeds account for 30 per cent of poultry farmers’ expenses with the cost of preventing and curing diseases taking another 30 per cent. But the unprecedented spike in feed prices in recent years, occasioned by the scarcity of raw materials and competition for grains by poultry and humans, is eating into the farmers’ profits. Farmers are also grappling with diseases as changing weather and poor feeding take a toll on the health and immunity of the birds.
“With the increasing cost of feeds, poultry farmers need a feeding formula that ensures right rations with a good nutritional mix while keeping the birds free from diseases. This is no mean feat,” said Mr. Henry Ambwere the CEO of MolaPlus Limited.
High nutritional value
The MolaPlus Poultry Microbes, a set of beneficial living microorganisms, and which come in the form of liquid, ensure that chicken are able to utilize the feeds faster while consuming less, which increases the bird’s growth rate and weight faster than a chicken relying on feeds alone. The microbes attach themselves to the gut of the bird, additionally creating a protective environment that inhibits attacks from disease causing organisms.
They are mixed with water, at the ratio of five mililitres for every litre of water, once every day.
A farmer is able to save a bag of 70kg feed every week by using the supplement for every 1000 birds. With a 70kg kilo of Layers mash feed going for Sh3, 000 a farmer is able to save Sh12,000 every month.
READ ALSO: How honey reduce heat stress in birds
The microbes also assist chicken reach maturity two and a half weeks earlier than they ordinarily would which reduces the cost of feeding. “With the use of microbes, the chicken reach maturity in four and a half weeks compared to the traditional seven weeks. This has got to do with a host of other beneficial aspects that the microbes produce in the body including Vitamins to boost the bird’s immunity,” Mr Ambwere said. Layers also start laying when they are at the 16th week.
Increase birds' weight by a half kilo under three weeks
A research by the Animal Science department of Egerton University on the MolaPlus Poultry Microbes also found out that the microbes increased bird weight by half a kilo under three weeks. They also assist in strengthening of the egg shell, the yellowing of the yolk and increasing the egg weight.
And at a time when the country is grappling with the aflatoxins menace, microbes are offering a cheaper and more organic solution. Kenya has been classed by the International Livestock Research Institute, ILRI, as one of the world’s hot spots for aflatoxins. But as awareness on the dangers of the highly toxic fungus on humans heightens, farmers have now moved to feeding their livestock on the not properly dried maize, a trend researchers now warn is fanning the fungus transmission from animals to humans through consumption of products like eggs and milk from animals fed on aflatoxin infested maize. Transporting the feeds under conditions where they are exposed to moisture or during poor storage increases the spread.
READ ALSO: Weed that prevent coccidiosis
A recent study by ILRI found out that some of these products had over 90 per cent concentration of aflatoxins which exceeded the 0.05 micro grams per litre requirement limit by the European Union, threatening the livelihoods of the over 21 million Kenyans who rely on poultry for income and diet. In poultry, aflatoxins cause stuntedness of birds, laying of tinny and poorly developed eggs and compromised immunity.
The microbes tames the aflatoxins in poultry by secreting key compounds and antioxidants that scavenge for the aflatoxins and feeds on them making the birds and their products safe for human consumption
High demand for microbes
Such multiple benefits with little investment have caught the attention of poultry farmers even in Uganda. “We have expanded our services to Uganda because poultry farmers there are very keen to minimize on expenses of chicken rearing,” said Mr. Ambwere whose resources on animal nutrition are used by the Animal Nutrition Department of Makerere University and the Africa Institute for Strategic Services and Development, AFRISA, to train Ugandan farmers. Mr. Ambwere is also a frequent guest speaker at the Animal Nutrition Department of Egerton University where he lectures students on feed utilization and formulation.
The growing demand for the company’s microbes has been on meteoric rise in the country, which has seen it increase its outlet network to 1500 stores. “With the prohibitive cost of feeds and poultry medication, farmers are looking for the best way they can cut on these expenses without affecting quality of the birds. They want to remain competitive in the face of growing competition especially from Uganda. Interventions like MolaPlus Poultry Microbes are offering that solution,” said Mr. Ambwere.

For more information, contact Mola Plus Limited on 0722656142