market

: 22 May 2018; Hits: 13690

Online platform links banana, potato and maize farmers to markets

Soko+, an online digital commodity trading and information system is linking potato, banana and maize farmers to markets at a time when Kenyan farmers lost Sh150bn worth of produce last year due to post-harvest losses resulting from inadequate markets.

In this, the platform has linked more than 16,594 Meru farmers for free to bulk buyers of produce in a bid to assist them get ready markets so as to enable them earn more income and improve their livelihoods.

To register with Soko+, send a short message to the number 20245 following the procedure #IDNumber#FirstName#LastName#County.

To get market prices for maize for instance send an SMS to 20245 in the format Price#Commodity#Town e.g. Example Price#Maize#Nakuru.

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“We encourage farmers to aggregate their produce in bulk through formation of groups so as to improve their bargaining power in the negotiation process and earn better prices by reaching into desirable markets,” said Martin Murangari, the Operations Manager, Sokopepe.

Soko+ has 30 agents who physically visit the farms and take photos of farmers produce before posting them online on their website where prospective buyers will purchase it.

soko plus

The website will list all the details of the farmer including the kind of produce he or she is selling, the market price of the produce and the amount to be sold.

Isaac Gatobu, a potato farmer in Meru for instance, has increased his earnings from Sh2200 per bag to between Sh4500 to Sh5000 after registering with soko+ in 2014.

“Initially I was selling his produce in Chuka town where the prices were low but since I was introduced to soko+ in 2014 by a friend I have been receiving market information on potato prices within various towns such as Marsabit where I currently sell my produce,” said Gatobu.

Soko+ provides market information for cereals, legumes and horticulture crops for towns including but not limited to Nairobi, Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, Mombasa and Malindi.

In 2017, Kenyan farmers lost 1.9m tonnes of food as they struggled to find markets according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

Of the total food wasted, maize, Kenya’s staple food was the most affected with the country losing Sh29.6bn worth of the crop yet it imported another bunch worth Sh42bn.

Green bananas were the second most affected crop as farmers lost Sh24bn worth of the produce.

Other produce that went to waste due to poor storage and handling, transport, and fungi attack, according to data contained in the 2018 Economic Survey released in April, includes Irish potatoes (Sh19.7bn), milk (Sh12.4bn), beans (Sh11.5bn), ripe yellow bananas (Sh5.6bn), sweet potatoes (Sh3.5bn), tomatoes (Sh2.4bn), pineapples (Sh2.4bn), sorghum (Sh1.9bn), and millet (Sh1.6bn).

According to the survey, Kenya loses approximately a third of its produce yearly through post-harvest losses and wastage by consumers who buy more food than they can consume.

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: 18 May 2018; Hits: 10698

Farm uses technology to speed up fish maturity enhancing market linkages and sustainability

bucket fish ponds Tank fish ponds. Photo gallery.

Kamuthanga Fish Farm in Machakos is using Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) that halves fish maturity period from eight to four months thus enabling the farm meet its market demands besides improving food security.

The technology involves keeping fish in a grower-out chamber, which is basically a tank that has air and water circulating unit with lighting provided by some translucent iron sheets to control temperatures and allow the fish to feed all day and night.

Getting right water parameters which include water pH, temperature, nitrogen and carbon dioxide with good oxygen circulation throughout is all one needs to run a successful aquaculture business,” said the farm’s founder and managing director, Anthony Ndeto.

“With this system in place one is assured of a stress-free environment for the fish, enabling better feeding, thus stimulating growth.”

According to Ndeto, feeding fish is the way to improve production and the best condition for proper fish feeding is when temperatures are high.

“I used to harvest just a tonne of fish using a 300 square-metre pond but now the farm harvest harvest and sell about 70 tonnes of adult tilapia and thousands of fingerling every year,” he said.

The temperatures are maintained at between 28 and 30 degrees centigrade, and the fingerlings are grouped according to their ages as they become ready for sale at one month.

The farm grows about 40,000 fingerings and sell the rest, mostly to small-scale farmers at an average of Sh10 per fingerling.

They harvest the fish at between four and six months under the technology, while in ponds, it is ready at eight months as they mature faster due to RAS that allow them eat all day all night.

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RAS not only speed fish maturity but also increases fish weight. Fish weighs 400-500 grams at four months under the technology while in ponds the average weight of tilapia fish after a period of one year is 300 grams.

“The reason why there is a big difference is because RAS also ensures the system is clean and the fish has no residues that could have been in feeds,” said Ndeto adding that though the farm is among the 24 listed farms to export fish to EU, the local market is still big enough.

“We are yet to start exporting our fish but for the time being we are still supplying our local consumers who are increasing daily.”

The farm sells a kilo of fish for Sh500.

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It imports starter feeds from Egypt to supplement the ones they make with the help of FoodTechAfrica, a partnership that brings together Dutch and Kenyan companies.

The farm has a hatchery where about 200,000 eggs are hatched monthly.

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: 17 May 2018; Hits: 10303

Mango juice factory to benefit 12,000 Makueni farmers

12,000 mango farmers are set to benefit from supplying the produce to Makueni juice factory in a bid that is geared towards providing market and reducing post-harvest losses by 40 per cent.

The factory which started operations last year is buying mangoes at Sh15 each and currently produces mango pulp.

This comes at a time when Kenyan farmers lost Sh150bn worth of produce in the 2016/17 season in the post-harvest process attributed to inadequate markets.

The plant has received Sh110m boost from the European Union to enable it produce more mango products through value addition. The county is the first out of 15 counties to receive the funds under the Instrument for Devolution Advice and Support (IDEAS) programme.

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In 2017 for instance Joseph Maweu, a mango farmer in the region, increased his income from Sh56,000 in 2016 to Sh121,000 after delivering his produce to the factory.

Initially, the farmer sold his mangoes at an open market in Makueni at between five and 10 shillings but with the factory buying each mango at Sh15 he has been able to increase his earnings two and half times.

“With ready market, I have increased the population of my mango trees from 18 trees to 170,” said Maweu.

makueni mangoes

Kenya produces approximately 540,000 tonnes of mango fruits each year according to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization.

The horticulture industry in the country is fastest growing sub-sector in the agriculture production.

In 2017, fresh produce earnings jumped 11 per cent to a record Sh115.25bn compared to the previous year according to the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya report released in April this year.

Of these, cut flowers accounted for 70 per cent of the total income with the rest coming from fruits and vegetables.

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