Smart farms

: 11 September 2018; Hits: 14605

Procedure for registration as an exporter of agricultural produce

Farmers and prospective exporters who would like to export their agricultural produce to the international markets can apply for licenses by writing to the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, whose responsibility is to assure the quality of agricultural produce from Kenya meet international standards.

A prospective exporter or farmer can do so by writing a letter to the Managing Director, KEPHIS accompanied by his/her company’s registration certificate, the Horticultural Crops Directorate license, Kenya Revenue Authority PIN certificate and copies of identification documents of directors.

The application goes together with a signed agreement if sourcing from authorized exporters, a signed agreement with growers (if you have any) and details of the location of the farm, crops under production, acreage and market destination.

Upon application, KEPHIS will then audit it within 10 working days.

Kenya overtakes South Africa, becomes biggest exporter of avocados in Africa

Crops to grow for Export to reap maximum returns

export peas

Snap peas ready for export. Courtesy

For growers of perishable agricultural products, the procedures for farmer recruitment, pest management, safety and hygiene of produce, calibration of spray equipment and sprayers, traceability and waste disposal policies.

The verification of documented policies and procedures will cover contracted farmers, own farms and suppliers.

In this, the areas to be checked include the schedules for planting, weeding, fertilizer application, harvesting and cleaning of crates, quality control management systems and storage facilities and records.

For dealers in fresh fruits and vegetables, a sample of produce is required for submission for pesticide residue laboratory analysis at the KEPHIS lab after a successful field audit.

Dealers of dried or processed agricultural products are required to provide document policies for audit including quality control management, good handling practices, sanitation and general housekeeping, worker health & hygiene and pest control programme.

After this, electronic certification system training is done for all companies.

Upon successful system audit and ECS training the company shall be notified in writing and registered into the ECS (Electronic Certification System).

In this, you will visit the Kephis website, c lick on online services and chose the option of Electronic Certification System (ECS) then c lick on Electronic Certification System at the end of the page. Apply for client registration. You shall then wait to be given a password for the system to be able to log in as a client.

Kenya’s horticulture earnings earned the country Sh56.23bn in the first four months of 2018 up from Sh40.57bn in a similar period last year according to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

In this, flower exports recorded a 40.41 per cent increase in sales to Sh42.59n up from Sh30.33n in 2017 while fruits and vegetables earned Sh4.98bn and 9.26bn respectively.

The Horticultural Directorate reports that the industry is the fastest growing sub sector in agriculture in Kenya and has been buoyed by compliance with export market requirements by the European Union, Kenya’s major destination of cut flowers accounting for 38 per cent of the total market share.

The whole registration process costs Sh15,000.

KEPHIS can be reached on +254 709 891 000.

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: 11 September 2018; Hits: 26145

Young Nakuru security expert building a thriving poultry farming in the county

Dennis Chege Poultry farmer Nakuru Dennis Chege holding some of his chicken eggs at his Kiamuni poultry farm in Nakuru County. Photo courtesy.

Dennis Chege, 30, a security supervisor at a leading foods company in Kenya, is building a thriving pure local chicken breeds, improved indigenous chicken and ornamental birds farming, a venture which is earning him over Sh500,000 annually.

“I run two poultry businesses in Nakuru; Mary Poultry Farm which is located at Kiamuni and registered in my wife’s name, Mary Njeri and Clatch Kuku Shop Company which deals in all poultry products and services,” said Chege.

Mary Poultry Farm is divided into two portions. The first sits on a 50m by 100m farm at Kiamuni where he keeps 5000 parent or mature chicken and while the other occupies an eighth of an acre at Langalanga which hosts 500 ornamental birds such as bantams, fizzles, necked neck, pigeons and French mondain among others.

“I sell fully grown improved or pure kienyeji chicken weighing about a kilo at Sh300-Sh450 depending on the number of chicken a customer purchases. I also supply several poultry farmers in Kisii and Siaya counties with over 1400 chicks every month,” said Chege.

The indigenous chicken are a favourite among farmers due to their tasty eggs and meat, earn him Sh300,000 gross a month while the ornamental birds which are more expensive at Sh3000 earn him Sh150,000 gross.

Chege also sells both stable (without yolk) and fertilized (with yolk) chicken eggs at between Sh600 and Sh750 per tray while stable ornamental birds eggs goes at Sh1,000- Sh2,000 per tray depending on the breed.

Currently in the market, an egg from indigenous chicken retails at Sh25-Sh30 compared to those from hybrid layers which retails for Sh12-Sh15, according to KALRO’s Non-Ruminant Research Center statistics,

The 2008 graduate from the Christ the King College in Nakuru holds a diploma in Information Technology (IT). After graduating, he got a job as an untrained instructor at Prime Time Institute in Nakuru. He saved the money that earned and it would facilitate as his capital to start is poultry side-hustle.

“Due to limited capital, I decided to start small but with a view of increasing the investment and grow the venture,” said Chege.

With approximately Sh10,000, he bought five chicken for Sh1,000, he used Sh6000 to set up a temporary poultry house and the rest he used to buy chicken feeds as well as drugs. He would eventually set up a Sh100,000 poultry house as the number of birds increased over the years.

At the end of 2010 he left the institute and joined Wells Fargo as an administration officer and security consultant. He ran his young poultry farm on part time especially over the weekends, during holidays and his off days until 2012 when he resigned to focus on his poultry farming.

However, a chance job position at Unga Group Limited as a security supervisor, a company that manufactures animal health and nutrition products among other products, would throw him back into the formal employment world in September 2013.

“Getting a chance to work at the company just came at the right time when I wanted to not only increase my knowledge and investment in poultry farming but also get proper poultry market connection,” said Chege.

As a security supervisor at the company’s Eldoret plant in charge of CCTV operations, it enables him to interact with all department in the plant, this gives him the opportunity to learn about chicken feeds and their production process.

While he is a supervisor from 8am to 5pm (Monday to Friday) Chege has entrusted the full management of his poultry business to his wife, a business partner and other three employees who operate day-to-day poultry activities when he is away.

His future aspirations include creating a leading poultry company in Kenya that deals in poultry products and services creating more employment opportunities.

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: 10 September 2018; Hits: 19071

Farm using goat manure as mulch and fertiliser doubling its production

goats manure

A farm in Ndeiya in Kikuyu, Kiambu County is using goat manure to grow red onions a practice which has enabled it double its production from seven tonnes an acre in 2016 to fifteen tonnes per acre beginning 2017.

Veteran Farm which is 30 acres large was used to grow maize, chilli, kales and cabbages among other crops beginning 2016 but the plan changed starting 2017 in favour of red onions and garlic when the farm started adopting smart organic farming technology using drip irrigation and goats manure as mulch and fertiliser.

“It is only that most farmers may not be aware, goat manure can be composted and used as mulch and it can prevent about 90 per cent water lose from the soil for crops use especially during dry seasons,” said Lucy Wangare, the farm’s manager and agronomist.

In addition, the manure is more nutritious to crops as compared to other types of livestock manure because the goats like feeding on herbs which is fully digested hence their droppings are less messy than many other types of manure.

“Goat manure contains high content of nitrogen as compare to cows, sheep, and chicken manure. This nitrogen further enhances the growth of plants and crops by nitrogen fixation, hence it increases the yield of crops at least by 20 per cent,” said Wangare.

“Though we use it to grow the red onions, goat manure can be used in nearly any type of garden, including that of flowering plants, herbs, vegetables, and fruit trees.”

Other agro-experts adds that using goat manure, falling of their fruits before maturity (ripen) due to natural calamities like wind, heavy rainfall, storm and others can decrease by 50 per cent.

In fact goat manure fertilizer can help gardeners produce healthier plants and crop yields.

“Goats not only produce neater pelletized droppings, but their manure doesn’t typically attract insects or burn plants as does manure from cows, buffaloes or horses. Goat manure is virtually odorless and is beneficial for the soil to maintain its PH,” Argues experts.

The manure contains adequate amounts of the nutrients that plants need for optimal growth, especially when the goats have bed in stalls. As urine collects in goat droppings, the manure retains more nitrogen, thus increasing its fertilizing potency.

Currently, the red onions occupy nine acres of the farm while garlic takes an acre but the acreage under the two crops keep increasing each season according to the market demand.

An acre can produce up to 15 tonnes and the farm sells 1-3 tonnes per week. A tonne goes at a minimum of Sh50,000 which translates to over Sh100,000 per week. The farm supplies their produce to supermarkets, schools, hospitals and high end estates within Nairobi.

“In a good season we can sell and raise enough revenue which can enable us run the farm for a whole one year after deducting the profit,” said Wangare.

She says there are plans to turn the farm into a model farm where farmers and students can be trained in crop production.

“Plans are underway to make Veteran Farm a model farm where farmers around and agriculture students from colleges can have chance to learn horticultural crop production,” said Wangare.

The farm will hold farmers' open day mid-September this year.

Lucy can be reached on +254 706252490

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