Smart farms

: 22 October 2019; Hits: 9477

Poultry waste increases milk output, earns Kabete farmer double income

poultry chicken d

Willie Ngige, a poultry farmer in Kabete, Kiambu County is earning double income from his layers and their wastes thanks to the latest research by FAO that poultry wastes can increase milk production tenfold a day something that has pushed high the wastes demand by dairy farmers in the area.

According to a research by Simeon Jonathan on Effect of Feeding Poultry Waste Based Diets on Milk Production for the University of Nairobi, the protein content in poultry waste ranges from about 14 to 33 per cent and this can boost milk production by at least 10 litres per day and help dairy animals attain a breeding weight of around 260 kilos by 18 months.

Ngige has been keeping layers from 2010 for eggs but he has since learnt that the sawdust he uses as beddings for the chicken after sometime when they are mixed with droppings offer good feed for dairy farmers.

“I used to discard the wastes or offer them freely to as manure to crop producers from the surrounding but after learning, from other farmers that the wastes are good in dairy, I have taken advantage of the many dairy farmers in the area to commercialise them for extra cash,” said Ngige.

RELATED ARTICLE: Solution turns sawdust into pig feed

Ngige who currently has 500 layers has been buying 10 bags of sawdust (wood shavings) weighing 70-90 kilos each from timber dealers in the area. These he says is enough for his chicken for a period of six months.

However, after every one month he collects the wastes after they have been laid on by the chicken and turn colour and use 1cm wire grid to sieve off through before packing them for the market.

In this he realises 4-5 bags of 80 kilos per month which he sells to dairy farmers at Sh800 each making up to Sh4,000 per month.

“Farmers come for this feed on a monthly basis and sometimes I receive prior orders from the farmers who want theirs preserved specifically for them by paying in advance,” said Ngige.

Besides the feeds, Ngige also collects up to 12 crates of eggs per day which he sells at Wangige Market in the county at Sh280 per crate earning him Sh3,360 a day and a total of Sh104,800 per month.

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: 15 October 2019; Hits: 9573

40 refugees in Turkana set to up vegetable production after training

farmers in turkana tending to cowpeas

Over 40 refugees from Kalobeyei Settlement in Turkana County are set to maximize the use of limited space and scarce water to produce maximum yields thanks to a project by Ruben Centre, a non-profit faith-based organization in Kenya that aims to address food insecurity through innovative, climate-resilient and replicable agricultural techniques in the area.

“After successful implementation of this project in Somalia, our main aim to Turkana residents especially those in refugee camps is to ensure that there is food production all through the year despite climatic conditions,” said Musa Juma, irrigation technician at Ruben Centre.

Some of the crops the farmers are trained on how to produce include spinach, kales, okra, jute mallow, spider plant, eggplant, capsicum, cow peace, nightshade, amaranths, and watermelon.

Other than refugee centres, the project has been aimed at junior farmers and the general host community with innovative kitchen gardening technologies and vegetable drying enterprises in three phases implementation approach.

In this, Ruben Centre experts train farmers through field school models, on ground or field implementation and site capability assessment on sunken beds, wick irrigation, container gardens or vertical sack gardens and zai pit farming techniques.

“Kitchen gardening, for example, has been appreciated by residents as a means of engaging young farmers and their facilitators in learning practical application of knowledge and skills for food production,” said Juma.

RELATED STORY: 100 acre dairy farm milks income in dry land

“Our initiative is meant to empower learners to improve their food and income security through application of numerous dry land farming technologies.”

Initially, the project targeted 30 refugees with wick vegetables gardens but the number has risen to 40 where each beneficiary has been provided with wick garden measuring 2x4m with capacity of 75 litres of water sustaining the garden for two weeks.

However, due to the increasing interest from residents, water challenge and space, some of the beneficiaries have been forced to share the gardens of 1x5m each holding 30 liters of water also enough for two weeks.

Juma says that already the first beneficiaries are expected to begin harvesting for household and for market having been taken through different crop production techniques, water harvesting, pest and disease management and general routine farm management practices.

“Though the farmers are still facing limited sources of water, lack of or poor water harvesting techniques and conflicts of priorities on water usage, more people have shown interest in practicing farming through the established gardens resulting to improved diet and income through sale of surplus produce,” said Juma.

Caption: Women at Turkana’s Kalobeyei Settlement tendering their cowpea vegetables. The farmers have been able to grow a variety of vegetables using innovative, climate-resilient and replicable agricultural techniques. Photo courtesy.

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: 15 October 2019; Hits: 15186

Relay vegetable farming earns Murang’a farmer over Sh52,000 a month from a quarter plot

Simon Ngure

Simon Ngure, a Murang'a County pastor-cum-farmer earns Sh52,000 gross income a month by growing various vegetables such as zucchinis, spinach, kales and tomatoes on relay system that enables him access steady income throughout the year as opposed to planting all the crops at once.

Within his quarter acre farm at Mathioya Sub-county, Ngure has been growing the crops for 23 years by scheduling his planting to offer his customers a continuous supply of fresh vegetables throughout the growing season.

“I plant my vegetables at timed intervals, rather than all at once. The plants mature at staggered dates, establishing a continuous harvest over an extended period,” said Ngure adding that the method also called successive planting is useful in circumventing the initial large yield from the crop and rather providing a steady, smaller yield that may be consumed in its entirety.

The short term crops that take about three months to mature has seen the farmer feed the surrounding community as he balances his pastoral work with the production of the crops.

He grows the vegetables organically by the use of livestock and farm manure to boost soil fertility and controls pests and diseases using charcoal dust and milk which is effective in reducing the effects of adverse cold.

“I also use a solution of crushed chilly, turmeric, ginger to clear destructive pests such as aphids that the corps are prone to,” said Ngure.

In a week the farmer is able to harvest up to 120 kilos of kales, 100 kilos of tomatoes, spinach 50 kilos, and zucchini 40 kilos.

He sells a kilo of kales at Sh30, zucchini at Sh70, spinach at Sh35 and tomatoes at Sh50 farm gate price to traders who come to fetch the produce at his farm daily. This translates to Sh13,150 gross income per week and Sh52,620 per month.

Ngure who is also a pastor does all his farm work in the morning and leaves the wife to watch over in the better part of the afternoon while he shifts to his pastoral duties.

Caption: Simon Ngure tending to his sukima wiki (kales) vegetables. Photo: Zablon Oyugi.

He can be reached on +254 726 354 080

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Monday, 16 August 2021 woow am also in mathioya i will visit the farm for more learning skills