Smart farms

: 24 October 2022; Hits: 2906

Kenyan farmers urged to grow in-demand nutritious, early-maturing beans

By George Munene

Kenyan farmers are being urged to take up the growing of in-demand fast maturing, disease-resistant, and high-yielding zinc and iron-rich bean varieties.

These beans which were introduced to the mass market last year have been a hit with farmers and consumers alike.

They mature in just 60 days compared to the usual 80-120 days. Yield over three tons an acre compared to two tons harvested from older varieties and are disease and pest tolerant.

They are further reputed for their efficiency in moisture utilisation.

According to consumers they have great taste, cook in half the time taken by traditional beans, and have a low flatulence. This means they fetch a premium in markets.

These biofortified beans include Nyota (available through KALRO Katumani); Angaza and Faida-- both developed by the Center for International Tropical Agriculture (CIAT); Kenya Madini and Kenya Cheupe developed by the University of Nairobi.

According to Dr. Beatrice Kiage of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), these beans are cheap to produce and highly adaptable which could make them handy in Kenya’s fight against ‘hidden hunger.

“About 26 per cent of Kenya's population is stunted. This affects both physical and mental development in children. It's been shown that the IQ levels of malnourished kids are 11 per cent lower than average and they earn 22 per cent less income as adults compared to their properly nourished counterparts. We cannot properly develop as a country until we remedy this.

This can be done through the consumption of beans that are high in iron and zinc,” she said.

Further, Iron deficiency is the major cause of anemia which affects up to 43 per cent of Kenya’s under five-year-olds and 40 per cent of pregnant women.

Zinc and Iron are also critical in child cognitive development while Zinc helps produce testosterone. Low levels of Zinc may be associated with erectile dysfunction.

The biofortified beans have five times more iron and zinc compared to biofortified maize meal.

FANRPAN under the ZironPulse Project is holding farmer training field days to guide farmers on the emergent challenges in bean production.

“The main challenge facing most farmers is climate change. Previously farmers used to grow high-altitude crops but have been forced to scale down to dryland crops. Lowland pests such as aphids and whiteflies have also invaded Kenya’s highlands as have diseases such as blight because of the high diurnal temperature ranges within our zone,” said Kieni East sub-county agricultural officer Caroline Mwenze.

At 6,000Mt, Kenya is Africa’s second-largest bean producer behind Rwanda but still faces a supply deficit of 1,000Mt. Most of this is made up of traditional varieties like Rosecoco, Wairimu, and Chelalang.

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: 21 October 2022; Hits: 1774

Soaring feed prices lead farmer to 5X more profitable egg-hatching business

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By George Munene

As the price of feed has soared, savvy poultry farmers have pivoted from the business of egg production to egg hatching. Through this simple step of value addition, an egg can increase fivefold in value.

Daniell Muketha is a farmer who made this pivot last year with good reason. “I used to buy a 50 kilo bag of feed for Sh2,500--which has risen by over 1,000 bob in the past year-- and sell my eggs for 20-30 shillings. My profit margins became increasingly thin with the farm often operating at a loss,” he explained.

Given his level of investment, the Meru farmer has been in the trade since 2017, and has a flock of over 1,000 birds, exiting the poultry business was not an option.

From his Skala poultry Farm, he now sells over 400 chicks monthly, all at different stages of growth. Day-old chicks for Sh100, Sh120 for a week old, and Sh250 for month-old chicks.

“The first and most critical step is ensuring your parent brood is first filial generation (F1), i.e, first generation. They mature on time (4.5-5 months), have production capabilities synonymous with the breed, and are resistant to diseases,” Daniell illuminated.

Using F2 or lower brooders will give chickens that take up to eight months to reach maturity and have both poor production and disease resistance.

For egg fertilization, he selects his best cockerels stocked at a 1:10 ratio.

The eggs are held in the incubator for 18 days before being shifted for hatching in three days.

The farmer keeps Kenchic’s Kenbro chicken for their dual purpose characteristic. They can lay 20-25 eggs every month. Cockerels weigh 3.5-4 kg when mature and hen 2.5-3kg.

Other breeds that are suited for fertilisation include; Sasso--a dual-purpose improved kienyeji chicken, the hybrid Kuroiler from Uganda, and The Rainbow Rooster.

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“The major investment I had to make was a Sh60,000 incubator that holds 528 eggs. You must also ensure you have a generator that will be used when electricity is lost and a heating system (an infra-red bulb/ jiko) to keep chicks warm in the hatchery,” he said.

Daniell informed that cheaper, locally assembled incubators can be sourced for as less as Sh45,000. Their egg-carrying capacity also varies; from as little as 100 to 5000.

He advises any farmer looking to venture into this line of business to invest in their online presence and have trustworthy business practices--” Most of my clients are farmers I have never met. Still, when I send a parcel of chicks to them, they are sure to receive it.”

Skala Poultry Farm: 0727998849

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: 19 October 2022; Hits: 2085

Nyandarua couple blazing trail for Hampshire Down sheep farming in Kenya

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By George Munene

On 20 acres in Dundori, Nyandarua County, Mwangi and Njeri Muchemi keep around 300 head of a much-in-demand sheep unknown to many Kenyan farmers: The Hampshire Down.

Originally from England, the large white sheep is prized for its superior, flavourful and lean mutton. In January of this year lamb cutlets of the sheep sold for a record Sh12,108 ($100) a kilogram in Australia. This has seen it dubbed the Wagyu of sheep, after the Japanese cow that makes the world's most expensive cut of meat.

“We had the fortune of tasting mutton from the Hampshire Down some 15 years ago. I had never tasted anything as good. When we got back home we started replacing all our Merino Sheep with the breed.

You do not really need to sell this sheep to people, just let them taste its meat and it’ll do it,” said Njeri.

The over decade-long journey to establishing Mucemi Farm has however been no small feat.

“They are a novel sheep in Kenya. We only knew one other farmer who bred pure Hampshires and whose herd we had confidence in,” she informed.

To attain the best foundation stock, grow the herd, and avoid inbreeding, they imported 15 sheep from South Africa in 2015 at a cost of about Sh150,000 a sheep. Disastrously, 10 of them died owing to failure to acclimatise to the Kenyan climate and being on a different diet and feed brands from what they were used to. Some of the bucks were also poor breeders. For Njeri though, this was a harsh lesson in the teething problems of getting started in livestock husbandry: “It was devastating but we took it all in stride. If it wasn't before, it became very clear in our minds that we needed to invest our time and efforts into getting this right.”

As they gear up to sell half of their flock before the end of the year, she says they are still working on getting things right.

White-coloured with dark blotches around the face, ears, and legs, the breed is classed as dual-purpose as it can be sheared for wool.

They are active but mild-mannered sheep with excellent mothering abilities.

Hampshire males are highly propotent and require separation from their mothers at three or four months to avoid inbreeding.

They are large and reputed for their rapid growth and efficiency in converting feed to meat.

In Njeri’s experience at four months they weigh between 15 and 20 kilograms; 30-35 kilos at six months old; 40-50 kg at eight and 75-80 kilos at 10 months to a year. She however cautions against letting breeding bucks cross over the 75-kilo mark as this makes them lazy and ineffective breeders.

The farm sells breeding rams for between Sh20,000-Sh35,000 and has a yearly cull of their ewes.

“We largely feed them on paddocked pasture, supplementing them with salts, dry matter, and concentrates. We've found that this not only enhances their growth rate but limits bloating and intestinal worms,” she said.

As their numbers swell the couple is looking to adopt a semi-zero-grazing system of feeding.

On average, the sheep consume 1.5 kilograms of pasture and 100 to 200 grams of dry matter daily. Their intake of concentrates is raised during flushing, steaming up, and when ewes are close to parturition.

They are a hardy breed that is adaptable to varied climatic conditions but from Njeri’s experience, they thrive in high altitudes.

Some of the husbandry practices they have kept their flock free of the disease include:

Deworming-- this is done monthly; dipping-- done before serving; and shearing-- twice a year. Their sheep pens are well-raised with slatted floors that have gaps that enable for collection of droppings. Their housing is disinfected weekly. Proper documentation is also critical to avoid inbreeding.

Mucemi Farm: 0722361116

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