A traditional chicken company is buying eggs from out-grower farmers in Kenya.

“For us to purchase produce from farmers, an interested farmer has to register with us by sending a short message with the word ‘OUTGROWERS’ to the number 0727200116, the system will then guide the applicant through the entire registration process,” said Ian Mutwiri, the Chief Executive Officer of Homerange.

The average price in buying the eggs is Sh10 each and Sh650 for a chicken but the price may vary depending on negotiation with the farmer.

Once a farmer joins out-growers program he or she will get access to affordable poultry feeds, beginners’ comprehensive training and capacity building, support and advice during the chicken rearing process.

Homerange specializes in the sale of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation’s improved kienyeji chicken and they sell vaccinated chicks. They offer free project set up advice and consultancy to enable the farmer plan properly for in an efficient manner.

“We provide farmers with subsidized three week old vaccinated chicks at Sh200, and later buy the meat and eggs when the chicken mature at five months,” said Mutwiri.

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Mutwiri says that a poultry stock of 200 chicken for instance has a production cost of Sh90,000 but comes with a sales income of Sh170,000. In this a farmer rakes in Sh80,000 in profits.

According to Mutwiri, the plan to sell chicks when they are three weeks old is to ensure that the farmers receive well grown chicken that is past the delicate stage that day old chicks are at.

According to Zootecha International, the agriculture sector in Kenya contributes 25 per cent to the country’s GDP with the poultry playing a significant role representing 30 per cent of the agricultural contribution to GDP and growing at a rate of five per cent per annum.

Kenya has an estimated poultry population of 31m birds. Of these, 75 per cent consist of indigenous chicken, 22 per cent of broilers and layers and one per cent of breeding stock. The traditional chicken is mostly kept in rural areas while layers and broilers are mainly reared in the urban areas.

In Kenya, Kienyeji chicken is sold to supermarkets, restaurants and fast food branches.

According to the 2018 Economic Survey Report, the value of chicken and eggs sold increased to Sh10.67bnin 2017 up from Sh8.8bn in 2016.