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: 06 March 2019; Hits: 23332

International exporter contracting farmers to grow herbs

A fresh produce exporter, AdaFresh, is recruiting farmers to grow herbs such as basil, coriander, mint, chives, tarragon, thyme, oregano, sage, dill, rosemary and sorrel.

“We are looking for 2.5m kilos of such herbs annually, but currently we are facing a shortage of two million kilos, with contracted farmers supplying 0.5m kilos,” said Dionysious Wahome, Kenya Produce Manager, Adafresh.

The company is looking for the produce for export to Israel, an international market that needs five million kilos of the herbs but produces just half of the target.

“A farmer intending to supply with these herbs must have a minimum of 15 acres of land for cultivation, enough for future expansion or be able to supply at least two to three tonnes per week,” said Wahome.

Farmers supplying the produce between 1^st and 15^th of every month will receive their payment on the 30^th of that month while those delivering their herbs between 16^th and 30^th of every month will be paid on the 15^th day of the following month.

Each produce has its own price, basil farmers will receive four Euros per kilo, chives 5.25 euros, Rosemary 3.5 Euros, mint 3.5 Euros, coriander three Euros, tarragon 4.9 Euros, oregano 3.8 Euros, sage 3.8 Euros, dill 3.3 Euros and Sorrel four Euros.

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Dhania

Coriander leaves

The farmer also has to be certified by GlobalGap, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) and obtain an export license from the Horticultural Crops Directorate Authority (HCDA).

GlobalGap stands for good agricultural practice and is responsible for marketing of safe products.

KEPHIS issues prospective farmers cum exporters with a phytosanitary and conformity certificate after complying with the maximum pesticide residue levels of below 10 per cent on each crop.

In 2017 for instance, Kenya’s fresh produce to the EU was intercepted 29 times due to high pesticide level with 17 of these interceptions involving capsicum caused by the False Codling Moth (FCM).

Kenya’s horticulture earnings increased by 33 per cent from Sh78.2bn to Sh104bn during the first eight months of 2018 compared to a similar period last year.

The earnings have been buoyed by the rise in export of flowers from Sh55.6bn as from January to August 2017 to Sh76.9bn as from January to August 2018 according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

In this, vegetable earnings increased by 9.6 per cent to Sh16.9bn from 50,000 tonnes of produce sold while fruit exports on the other hand fetched Sh8.7bn from 57,000 tonnes exported.

Wahome can be reached on +254 727 908 779.

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Tuesday, 30 August 2022 [quote=Peter Kariuki]I have a ten acre land in kiambu how can I be part of your ...

Saturday, 27 August 2022 I have a ten acre land in kiambu how can I be part of your contacted farmers

: 04 March 2019; Hits: 4466

Safaricom partners with livestock association to host agribusiness trade fair in Homa Bay County

Waruhiu

Safaricom’s DigiFarm has partnered with the Kenya Livestock Producers Association to host an Agribusiness Trade fair and Exhibition in Rachuonyo, Homabay County on Friday.

The event will bring together various agri-business stakeholders in the region and give an opportunity to farmers to showcase their products, learn various farming skills and interact with exhibitors from various agricultural organizations

Small scale farmers in the County will also get an opportunity to register with DigiFarm and get access to information regarding best farming practices, access to affordable and quality input

“Our purpose is to uplift small scale farmers from subsistence farming and enable them archive full economic benefits and make farming a profitable venture. We believe that our efforts to modernize agriculture will enable us make our country food secure by enabling farmers increase productivity through financial and market access support,” said Rita Okuthe, Chief Enterprise Officer, Safaricom.

DigiFarm is an integrated, free-to-use mobile platform offering smallholder farmers access to a suite of information and financial services including discounted products, customized information on farming best practices, and access to credit and other financial facilities.

The M-Agriculture product was launched in 2017 in partnership with Safaricom as the technology partner, iProcure to guarantee access to high-quality inputs, FarmDrive to provide affordable credit and Arifu as a content partner through whom farmers have access to relevant information.

So far, over 900,000 farmers have been registered.

The data on registered farmers has allowed the county and the National government source vital data for planning and resource allocation as well as enable agricultural extension officers reach more farmers. Farmers are able to purchase farm inputs via M-PESA or credit payable between 30 – 90 days.

To ensure that the service physically reaches farmers, 62 depots have been established in eleven counties which include Bomet, Nyandarua, Nandi, Meru, Makueni, Kirinyaga, Uasin Gishu, Laikipia and Kericho among others.

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: 26 February 2019; Hits: 9473

Local and international rise in demand for the nutritious chia seeds entices farmers to grow the crop

Chia crop.

Kenyan farmers are increasingly picking up chia seed farming owing to the grain seeds’ niche local and international markets sparked by the seeds’ various nutritional properties that appeal to the health conscious consumers across the world.

Chia seeds are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, protein, fiber, antioxidants, iron, calcium and are gluten free. Currently, the seeds are utilized by various industries including functional food, animal feed and cosmetics.

According to Africa Chia Seeds Market - Growth, Trends and Forecasts (2017 - 2022) by Mordor Intelligence, US based global market research intelligence, currently due to high demand and relatively low supply of chia seeds, value of chia and chia containing products are much higher as compared to canola, soy and flax seeds.

In food and beverage industry chia seeds are getting promoted as packed superfood and as supplements in bakeries, in cereals, muesli bars, peanut butter and beverages.

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In Western Kenya, already there are 2,000 farmers growing chia crop in Bungoma, Busia and Homa Bay counties under contract with Momentum Trust, a Danish organization headquartered in Siaya County and working with small-scale farmers in Africa.

The organization exports 1400 tons of organic Chia Seeds annually to Denmark while some are sold to local companies such as Healthy U.

“We always harvest between 2-5 tonnes per season of chia seeds which is not enough for export,” said Philip Odhiambo, the organisation’s Homabay-Oyugis branch manager.

“We have been mobilizing the farmers and there is increased interest among them to pick up the venture. However, there is need for a higher price by the farmers as this will continue motivating them.”

According to a February 2017 Market Research by Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) on production of different crops and nuts in Busia County, an acre of chia crop can yield up to seven tones of chia seeds under good agronomical practices.

The seeds can fetch a farmer up to Sh1500 per kilogram in the local market and while Momentum Trust offers Sh150 per kilo, there is intention by the organization to find a better price for their farmers.

Currently Momentum Trust farmers in various have already started harvesting their crops expecting to realise five tonnes of chia seeds in one month.

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