Smart farms

: 31 August 2016; Hits: 21692

Juice machine helps farmers earn six times more from sugarcane

Farmers and vendors can earn more than Sh400 by minting the juice from a single sugarcane with the help of a rechargeable battery powered extractor machine.

Earning about Sh400 from a single sugar cane is more than six times higher than what is realised by directly selling it in pieces.

A nine-feet sugar cane can be sliced into three parts, which are sold at Sh20, bringing the total to Sh60.

But Jeff Selembo of Peace Officers for Christ International (POCI), a Kiambu based agribusiness religious organisation, has repeatedly found that the same cane can generate up to Sh450 with the help of an electric powered juice extractor.

“Three feet of a rich piece of sugarcane can give one litre of the juice. The juice is packaged into three cups of slightly more than 300ml. Each of them is sold at Sh50,” he said.

Three similar pieces give a litre each, making a total of three litres from the entire cane.

If from one litre, there are three cups, the entire cane yields nine of them. With each of them selling at Sh50, the whole cane would earn Sh450.

The orgnisation mints and packages cane juice for sale on orders.

READ ALSO: Enterprising youth earns from sugarcane juice

Vendors at Keumbu and Bobaracho regions in Kisii County sell six, one-and-half feet long sugar cane pieces at Sh50.

Although they are of the thin sweet type, the canes can give even two litres of the juice, worth Sh300.

Besides minting the juice, POCI also sells the extracting machines at Sh120,000; the price is, however, negotiable according to Selembo.

“Apart from the machine, which is powered directly by electricity, there is another one that runs on rechargeable battery. This makes it a flexible choice for vendors, who may be away from direct grid power,” he said.

The battery can be recharged by electricity or solar panels.

READ ALSO: Sugarcane farmers use beetles to tame pest

Although sugarcane chewing is better for strong teeth, urban consumers prefer peeled and chopped pieces or ready juice.

Cane lovers who cannot chew can enjoy the juice too.

The juice can be added to medicinal drugs that may not be consumed directly. It is less bulky to transport and can be refrigerated for later consumption.

PHOTO: Jeff Selembo squeezing juice out of split pieces of sugarcane at Nakuru show ground on July 7, 2016. Minting sugarcane juice can earn up to six times more than direct selling. PHOTO BY LABAN ROBERT.

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: 30 August 2016; Hits: 14783

Prisons officer helps farmers set up integrated backyard fishponds

A Kenya Prisons Service officer is helping farmers set up quality integrated backyard fish ponds for high yields at reduced production costs due to recycling of rabbits and chickens wastes into food for fish.

Jared Mokaya, who is attached to Nakuru Prison Service station, has been helping farmers constructing the ponds in Kakamga and Nakuru counties.

At the Nakuru Show Ground, the prisons service harvested 50 fish in March, 2016, which were more than half a kilogramme each.

“Many people staying in urban areas and other regions where land is scarce can utilise rain water and the small plots they have bought to generate income. Raising 100 fingerlings to maturity in six months even where there is no constant water flow requires almost nothing after installation,” he said.

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The common integrated fish ponds he has been contracting for farmers are 6m by 5m in length and width, with a depth of one metre.

A farmer needs to assemble all the required materials before inviting Mokaya. The materials include a pond polythene lining, timber, nails, a wire mesh, planting bags with soil, among others.

“It takes at most two days to complete the work if the farmer has already dug out the pond and the assistants are sufficient. If the farmer takes care of my bus fare, it costs less than Sh5,000 in supervising, the work,” the officer said.

At the same time, the officer supports farmers in sourcing the best quality fingerlings from renowned hatcheries.

“Fingerlings are introduced to the pond two weeks after the construction. By this time, the chicken and rabbits could have added enough manure into the water for growth of the phytoplankton, which is food for the fish,” Mokaya, who holds a diploma in aquaculture management said.

Water is only added into the pond when the level reduces. Five to six litres can be scooped for the vegetables grown on top of the hutch.

Excrement from the fish also supports the growth of more microbes in the water. High number of planktons and other microbes recycle the waste to non-toxic levels.

Integrated fish farming involves recycling of one organism’s excrement into food for another. In this case, the 100 fish can be supported by droppings from four chickens, two rabbits, and 12-15 kales.

The rabbit urine dropping into the water is fetched and used in irrigating the vegetables, which are on top of the hutch. The chicken’s droppings into the water support the growth of algae (phytoplankton).

Apart from the algae being food to the fish, these micro-organisms release more 95 per cent of their waste in form of oxygen into the water for the fish’s respiration.

PHOTO: Kenya Prisons Service officer Jared Mokaya inspecting the service’s demonstration integrated backyard fishpond in Nakuru on July 8, 2016. The officer is helping farmers set up similar fishponds at their backyards. PHOTO BY LABAN ROBERT.

Mokaya can be reached on +254775702877 or +254724469499

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: 23 August 2016; Hits: 9016

OLX SMS links potato farmers to buyers

Potato farmers without Internet-enabled telephone gadgets can now access direct market for their produce after online selling platform, OLX, launched a short message service linkage platform.

Speaking during the launch of the service, Kenya OLX Manager Peter Ndiang’ui said more than 9,000 farmers are set to benefit from high prices of selling their produce directly to consumers like hotels and restaurants.

The direct linkage from the farmer to markets like hotels and other eateries in urban areas will eliminate middlemen, who exploit producers and the consumers in the supply chain.

Farmers are required to dial *887# to alert OLX, which will then connect them to buyers. The dialing will identify the farmer according to their region of origin.

Although the service is currently available to Nakuru and Nyandarua counties-the country’s rich potato baskets-the manager said it will be available in other regions too.

The SMS platform is an alternative to farmers who do not have internet enabled devices to access online OLX Agriculture Category.

Kiambu County Irish potato farmer Patrick Njega said middlemen can by a 110kg sack at Sh1,800 and sell it at between Sh2,500 and Sh3,000, depending on the demand.

Even if the customer is to incur transport costs of Sh300 per sack to reach an urban market, selling the sack at about Sh2,500 leaves a big profit margin.

At the same time, the middlemen use the outlawed 150kg sacks in some areas instead of the 110kgs to extort farmers.

With the direct link, farmers have a say on packaging according to the demand of their clients.

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