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: 24 July 2019; Hits: 4717

Kenyan fruit, vegetable exporter wins prestigious award at AgriPitch competition

agripitch award alex mutua muli

Photo courtesy

Alex Muli, CEO and Co-Founder of Goshen Farm which exports Kenyan fresh fruits and vegetables won the best agribusiness mature start-up category award at the youth AgriPitch competition, organized by the African Development Bank in partnership with the Western Cape Government in South Africa.

The 2019 competition which took place in Cape Town, South Africa from 24th to 28th June themed “Climate Smart Agriculture: Business and Employment Opportunities for Africa’s Youth” saw over 400 agribusiness proposals from across the continent participated in the African Youth Agripreneurs Forum (AYAF) competition.

Alex received a prize money of Sh2.5m ($25,000) while Paul Sheppard, South African who is a farmer specialising in the design, provision, and management of indoor and outdoor hydroponic systems and Co-Founder of Future Farms, took the $10,000 prize for the early start-up category.

A total of six winners from the two categories received a total of Sh7,400,000.

“This is a great learning experience for me and has helped me to know how to better tell the story about my business. I have been able to meet young Africans who are also doing great stuff for this continent hence rewriting our continent's story, a story of hope, and transformation,” said Alex whose Goshen Farm was started in 2011.

The forum provided a platform for youth agripreneurs and key stakeholders to brainstorm with experts, business leaders, investors and policymakers on issues that affect youth employment and key solutions to addressing these.

It also served as a call to action to support innovative agriculture growth through intense engagement and mentorship for small and medium enterprises, and emphasized that with greater support and opportunities to set up their agribusiness enterprise, youth can become the driving force of Africa’s agriculture transformation.

The AgriPitch Competition was part of a larger forum, the African Youth Agripreneurs Forum (AYAF) an annual forum of the African Development Bank’s flagship, Enable Youth Program, which focuses on youth employment and food insecurity.

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: 18 July 2019; Hits: 6592

Nandi farmer who quit maize for French beans gets guaranteed market

In May 2019, Robert Kiprop Choge quit maize farming for French beans, a short season crop that matures faster compared to maize.

“French beans are legumes but unlike the normal beans such as KK8, they are consumed as pods and mature in 45 to 60 days depending on prevailing climatic conditions. In Nandi it takes 60 days to mature unlike in warmer places like Makueni and Machakos where it matures in 45 days. This is a high value legume making its farming lucrative,” said Choge.

Choge leased 10 acres of land in Kipsigak, Nandi to plant the crop and the produce is nearly ready for harvesting. In this, he has been contracted by Meru Greens, a producer and marketer of horticultural crops. The company will buy his produce at Sh50 per kilo.

“French beans have a ready market and with contract farming one has market certainty unlike maize whose market is uncertain with high production costs,” said Choge.

The price of a 90kg of maize for instance fluctuates yearly as the prices are controlled by the government. The selling price normally ranges from Sh2,300 to Sh3,000 per 90 kg bag. However, with short season crops such as French beans, Choge expects to harvest a minimum of 5,000kg per acre will earn an average of Sh225,000 per acre with production costs estimated at Sh25,000.

To breakdown the production costs for each acre, Choge used Sh5,000 to till land twice, Sh5,000 on fertilisers, Sh8,000 on seeds and Sh7,000 on labor and pesticides.

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french beans choge

Robert Choge inspecting his French beans farm in Kipsigak, Nandi County

Choge has embraced digital farming in the management of his crops as he works in Nairobi, 300km away. In this he uses mostly WhatsApp to communicate with his grounds man who sends him photos of the crops and how they are faring on. In case of a disease attack for instance, he receives a photo of the affected crop which he tend sends to his agronomist who then advises him on what to do.

“It is a good way to manage your farm if you are working elsewhere but one has to have someone reliable on at the farm to ensure smooth running of your farm. I am lucky I got someone I reliable on the ground because in most cases digital farming can be quite challenging. This is because I have seen a number of my friends lose a lot of investment by entrusting their farms with relatives or employees who end up messing everything leading to loses. So for me, digital farming has been successful. It is quite challenging though because I found myself travelling most of the time to the farm mostly over the weekends,” said Choge.

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Tuesday, 06 April 2021 [quote=JOHNSON]Am Johnson & have been highly motivated by you since I read about...

Wednesday, 31 March 2021 Am Johnson & have been highly motivated by you since I read about the same in a ...

: 18 July 2019; Hits: 8407

Strawberry jam production helps company find market for grade 2 fruits

strawberry jam plant The Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) plant in South C, Nairobi where VG Foods Ltd strawberry jam products are produced. Photo courtesy.

VG Foods Ltd, a food and beverage company based in Naivasha with its production site at South C in Nairobi in 2014 started strawberry jam, a move that has seen the young company avoid the wastage of grade 2 fruits which could be going to waste due to their undesirable looks in the market.

The firm which was started in 2011 by two graduates Davis Munene Nyamweya, a food scientist and his friend who is an actuarial scientist after the pulling out of other partners conducted a successful trial of strawberry farming within a quarter acre plot of the 23 acres leased land at Karate. This encouraged the duo.

“We had contributed Sh300,000 which we spent on leasing the land, set up drip irrigation system, buy seedlings and plastic mulch and the rest on labour to try out the fruit and find out whether it is feasible in the area and the result was awesome,” said Davis who is also the managing director of the company.

Over 60 per cent of the first produce were grade 1 fruits which were fit for high end markets while only 30 per cent were smaller in size hence were undesirable and could only be sold in the local open-air markets in the area.

However, in 2014 in a bid to further increase their production by making 25 beds with a capacity of accommodating 12,000 seedlings, there came a drought which affected the plants and at the time of harvesting there were 90 per cent of grade 2 fruits meaning the company was headed to incur huge losses.

“To avoid this we decided to purchase some machines using the money we had realized from our previous seasons and contributions from family members and friends to start off in strawberry jam production,” Said Davis.

In the following year (2015) they decided to register the company and acquired certificate of production from Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) after being offered a space at Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI), South C branch in Nairobi where they could also use some of the institute’s facilities.

VG strawberry jam

Branded VG Foods Ltd jam. Photo courtesy.

Production capacity and market

The company is currently sourcing its fruits from its farm in Naivasha for production in Nairobi as a way of market convenience.

They produce 100 jars of jam from time to time with production depending on market demand which majorly come on orders.

“Our products are 80-90 per cent pure fruit content as we do not add artificial food colours or flavours. Instead we crush sugarcane for juice that we add to the jam to boost the taste,” said Davis.

A jar of 37oml goes at Sh500 while that of 200ml goes at Sh250.

The firm’s markets include farmers’ market in Karen, Sarit Centre, New Muthaiga, groceries, and home deliveries via online orders.

Future prospects

The company is now eying supermarket supply tenders for more markets though the production is still low due to lack of better and its own facilities.

“We are calling on interested investors who can help us acquire better automated machines that will enable us up our production. We are currently working with different nutritionists to fine tune our products with a view to not only attain food security but also attain healthy breakfasts and snacking,” said Davis.

Davis can be reached on +254 780 712736

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