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: 17 December 2019; Hits: 5829

Baringo farmers eye export market with 1.2 tonnes capacity coffee milling plant

coffee plant factory

Coffee farmers in Baringo County could soon forget market challenges following the establishment of a 1.2 tonnes per hour coffee milling plant which is set to provide an edge in the quest to advance direct export of coffee to the Korean market.

The Sh100 million modern coffee milling plant at Katimok in Baringo North Sub-county will begin operations by March next year as revealed by Governor Stanley Kiptis during his Jamhuri Day celebration address at Mogotio Vocational Training Centre.

“We have also undertaken to revive cooperative movements as an avenue of marketing local coffee so as to get rid of middlemen who exploit farmers,” said Kiptis adding that the county government is putting emphasis on the improvement of quality and quantity of coffee, cotton and sisal for both local and international markets.

He asked coffee farmers in Baringo who had abandoned the bushes as a result of unfavorable market prices to grow the crop again saying that the county government has started supplying subsidized certified coffee seedlings and agro-chemicals as a measure of reviving the growing of the cash crop and increase production.

“This has been done through improving governance of the cooperative societies by electing credible individuals in order to gain farmers confidence and enable cooperatives to channel their coffee produce to one miller for quality controls,” said Kiptis.

He said that his administration is keen to giving a new lease of life to agriculture and livestock development through continued improvement of production and quality as well as value addition with the aim of improving food security sustainable income for the residents.

On cotton growing, he said, the County Government has started the revival of the crop that farmers had abandoned in suitable areas like Kerio Valley, Mogotio, Baringo South and Tiaty.

He said that Agriculture and Food Authority was helping his government in distributing hybrid cotton seeds in potential growing areas.

“Leveraging on the revival of Rivatex in Eldoret, the cotton ginnery at Salawa has been revived under private ownership and is buying raw cotton from farmers before it is taken to Rivatex for processing,” Kiptis underscored.

He urged local cotton farmers to take advantage of the refurbishment of the State-run Rivatex textile factory which provides a ready market to produce cotton.

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: 11 December 2019; Hits: 14612

Thika company urgently looking for rabbits to meet rising meat demand

rabbits1

A Kiambu County based firm is looking for more than 1,000 rabbits per week from farmers to meet its growing demand from the suppliers as festive season meat orders starts gaining momentum.

Supermarkets and other small meat outlets have placed orders at the Thika-based company, Rabbak, to deliver meat and life rabbits.

The firm, which also slaughters the rabbits, has never met the orders, one of the directors, Godfrey Njoroge said.

Rabbak is buying the rabbits at Sh400 per kilo. For one to deliver the rabbits to Rabbak, they must be at least three kilogrammes.

“Rabbak has orders; there are no rabbits to deliver. It does not matter the breed of the rabbit. A farmer delivers rabbits, which are in good health for weighing before immediate payment. This ensures that the farmers get the money and use it in buying more inputs for production,” Njoroge said during a livestock event in Thika town.

Rabbit meat is becoming popular because of being lean. Apart from deep frying, it is roasted in addition to making of sausages in hotels, and other eateries besides supermarkets.

Nakumatt is one of the biggest consumers of the rabbit in form of sausages.

The retail outlet placed an order of 100 rabbits per week, but Rabbak has never met he number. High-end hotels in Nairobi have placed orders exceeding 1,000 rabbits per week.

The farmer is required to deliver a live rabbit to the Thika offices.

Rabbit farming, which was perceived as a ‘lad’s hobby in the traditional set up is quickly rising to be an agribusiness opportunity.

Apart from the meat, other farmers are tapping and selling urine as a folia fertiliser and biopesticide. Half a litre of the urine fetches more than Sh500.

For those with good markets in places like Mombasa, one kilo of the rabbit earns them between Sh700 and Sh1,000 upon delivery.

Njoroge can be contacted on +254721707540

Or Waiganjo on +254721219092

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: 11 December 2019; Hits: 8854

Kisumu’s Kilimani upmarket offers cassava farmer better prices for value-added products

cassava tubbers

Alex Ombuto, a cassava farmer from Kisumu County is earning up to Sh480,000 a year targeting residents of Kilimani estate in the county where the demand for the tubers is high.

The electrical engineering graduate from Kisumu Polytechnic says that since he introduced the idea to the Kisumu residents, commercialisation of cassava has been tremendously gaining popularity and many entrepreneurs and farmers are embracing the root and its products.

The trend has picked up around the upmarket Kilimani in Kisumu town where the business is booming due to the high demand from Asians and Indians living in the region.

“Indians love homemade cassava crisps and doughnuts so much that they often flock my business premises in the evening to take some home”, said Ombuto.

His business targets schools, local hotels, offices, supermarkets, and small retail shops.

“More often, industrial buyers are attracted by my homemade-level value addition that simply involves cleaning, chipping and drying which greatly reduces their production costs at their plants”, he said.

A doughnut goes for Sh10 and chapati Sh20. Cakes are sold for between Sh250 to Sh500 depending on the size and are baked on order, with his sales hitting Sh30,000 during social events such as weddings and birthday celebrations where he supplies the products on order.

From his modest savings of sh3,000, Ombuto and his wife Florence Ombuto are now running a business with an annual turnover of Sh480, 000. They have also employed six workers whom they pay Sh250 per day.

The father of six now diversifies his business by buying more land to plant cassavas to reduce the costs of purchasing the raw produce. He plans to expand business to reach the potential growth needs of many customers.

The price of his home-crisps ranges between Sh100 and Sh300, depending on the quantity and size of the products. However, for his clients such as supermarkets and hotels which buys the products, the cost depends on quantity purchased. Given their location, the couple enjoys a monopoly.

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