Smart farms

: 19 October 2021; Hits: 5237

Immigrants drive up demand for African vegetables abroad

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An increase in appetite for traditional African vegetables (TAVs) is opening up new markets for Kenyan farmers abroad. The demand has been brought about by a rise in the numbers of Africans immigrating to the US, Europe and Australia.

This is in addition to the reduction of barriers in accessing these markets as a result of ongoing deals between the Kenyan government and their counterparts abroad.

“Negotiations on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulationshave helpeddevelop food safety standards that allow locally certified products by institutions such as the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) to enter the European market. Similar discussions with the US are ongoing,” said Peterson Nyanchwaya, the Manager of Trade Advisory Services at the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency.

Following the continued removal ofnon-tariff barriers, Kenyan farmers are now finding it easy to access profitable markets outside the continent.

“It is now less hectic to sell your products in developed countries provided you meet the required safety thresholds,” said Marion Wesonga, a farmer from Kakamega, who independently exports dried vegetables to clients in the UK after acquiring the necessary certifications.

Ms. Wesonga, who stayed in the UK for five years, between 2013 and 2018, realised a demand for indigenous African vegetables as saga (African spiderweed), kunde (cowpeas), terere (amaranth) and managu (black nightshade) from the Kenyan community abroad.

“It is quite difficult to get the vegetables we are used to in foreign countries, hence the need to source them from Africa,” said Wesonga, who exports dried vegetables, which fetch her almost five times the price in local markets.

Yet, one does not need foreign contacts to enter the export market. Locally, there are several companies that contract farmers to produce vegetables, spices and other horticultural crops, which they then process and sell outside the country.

For the average farmer, partnering with these companies is ideal as it reduces the number of engagementsare involved in before selling their produce. One such company is Mace Foods, which mainly serves farmers from Western Kenya.

Founded in 2002, Mace Foods specializes in dehydrated spices, indigenous vegetables andherbs. The company offers contracted farmers the support needed in the production process and a guaranteed market for their produce. Presently, Mace has contracts with 1,810 farmers from 14 counties, but it plans to expand its database to 4,000 farmers by the end of 2021.

“For us to meet the demand in international markets, we need to increase the number of farmers we work with by more than twice,” said the company’s founder and managing director, Margaret Komen.

In its expansion plan, Mace is working with a KSh54.41million loan from Kenya Climate Ventures, which will go into managing collection points, processing infrastructure and certification processes for farmer groups.

For more information on how to reach the export market, contact the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agencythrough phone:0722205875 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To reach Mace Foods for information on the farmer contracting process call:0720391290

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: 15 October 2021; Hits: 5725

South Sudan okra demand triples farmer income

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By George Munene

Low market prices can leave small scale farmers frustrated, but one Kisumu okra farmer has proven that simple value addition of valuable crop can triple his farming income with just one harvesting period.

With a short shelf life of seven to ten days, small scale farmers of this crop find it difficult to own cold rooms due to their exorbitant prices. This is where Paul Ochieng saw an opportunity- sun drying. Which has enabled him to export six kilos of dried okra weekly to South Sudan at a price of Sh100 per kilo, compared to other farmers who fetch just Sh80 for the fresh produce locally.

The annual post-harvest losses of fresh horticultural crops in Kenya are estimated at more than 50 per cent according to a 2010 research by The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Space and facilities to handle food products, especially fresh produce remain insufficient. This results in high levels of waste and spoilage dwindling farmers’ income.

“What opened my eyes in the drying of okra was when I met South Sudanese students from the Great Lakes University of Kisumu (GLUK) in 2016 who were buying the produce to trade back home. We agreed on a purchase price of Sh100 per kilo, Sh20 more than what Kisumu traders gave,” says Paul.

Due to the good quality of Paul’s okra plant and high demand for the plant back in S. Sudan, the purchase price of a kilo moved from Sh100 per kilo to Sh300 per kilo—this was triple the initial agreement.

To prepare the fruit for drying Paul cuts the vegetable into slices of 1- 4 cm cross length and spreads them on hot rocks about 10:00 am in the morning when the rocks are already heated by the facilitating for speedy drying.

“In India, where okra is highly consumed, farmers often dry the produce using hot air driers or microwaves, but for me, I take advantage of the rocks in my homestead since I leave close Kit Mikayi a famous tourist attraction site,” he adds.

Despite exporting it as flour, Ochie’ng is paid in fresh weight. 150 kilos of fresh okra can produce about three kilos of flour which is packed in bags. This has reduced transport costs by almost 75 per cent.

“The high yielding "Pusa sawani" okra variety I grow matures in 45 to 55 days. I harvest 350kg a week; 300kg is turned into flour (about 6kg) for export to S. Sudan at Sh300 per kilo of fresh weight with the remaining 50kg supplied as fresh produce to Kisumu City’s Jubilee Market at Sh80 a kilo.” The farmer explained. This translates to Sh94,000 gross income a week and Sh367,000 a month.

He says the harvesting period of okra being three months, at the end of every season he earns a gross of Sh1,128,000.

The students have also opened a restaurant within GLUK, making and serving okra flour chapatis and snacks to the many South Sudanese and other students in the campus. This has meant Paul continually increase his production to match rising demand.

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: 15 October 2021; Hits: 5594

Uasin Gishu dairy farmer raises earnings by adding higher butterfat Ayrshire milk

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A Uasin Gishu dairy farmer has raised his income by combining Ayrshire cow milk which has a higher butterfat content at 3.4 per cent—about 10 percent more than Holstein Fresian milk.

Ayrshire cows with that of Friesian after abandoning maize farming due to exploitation from middlemen whom he said denied him of his full returns.

Willy Kirwa abandoned maize farming after struggling to make ends meet due to the crop's poor farm gate prices and perennial disease attacks.

”I had sought out alternatives and was finally convinced of the economic potential in dairy farming. After doing some quick calculations, I realised that returns were quite impressive,” said the famer.

“I secured a loan of Sh200,000 to assist me in constructing the structures and also facilitate take-off,” said the farmer.

With his initial heard of 10 cows, he started to improve their quality by buying additional pedigree animals which included Holstein, Friesian and Ayrshire breeds. He then secured a bigger loan of Sh1m having successfully cleared the previous debt.

“I used the money to purchase a milking machine and to buy more high quality animals, he said.

With 20 animals on zero grazing, he was gradually realising his dream having secured a steady market for his milk supply including a local school that offered him a very competitive price.

To be a class above the rest, Mr. Kirwa devised a method that has ensured that his milk is the most sought after commodity by both companies and individuals.

“I realized that Ayrshire cows have thick creamed milk which I now combine with milk from the Friesian using my own formula,” he said.

The milk has been the talking point of his customers, with others waiting to sample it and become customers.

“I wanted to try out something different to ensure my commodity remained relevant in the market,” he added.

Mr. Kirwa has also turned to breeding with his heifers forming part of his growing herd. “I source for the best semen globally to ensure I get the best breeds, “he said.

A heifer on his farm fetches more than Sh150, 000. Today, the animals have increased to 36. On average he milks more than 25 animals at any given month which produces about 350litres of milk daily.

This translates to a tidy sum of money at the end of the month, depending on market forces. “The milk market in this area is so huge that we even run short of supplies,” he said.

To cut on costs and maximize on profits, Mr Kirwa has turned to growing and operating his own animal feed.

He also purchases drugs for these animals from leading pharmaceutical firm on wholesale, which helps to cut down the cost of treating them by almost half. “I invite veterinary officers only to check on the heath of the animals, but supply the drugs, “he added

The farmer is also planning to take his dairy farming a notch higher by turning to value addition. He plans to purchase a coolant in the coming months, before engaging in packaging and selling yoghurt.

With his success spreading like bushfire in the village of Kapseret, budding dairy farmers have been flocking to his home to learn a few basics on rearing dairy animals at a fee. He charges between Sh300 and Sh400 to educate farmers on the best practices when carrying out dairy business, “he said.

According to Mr. Kirwa the most encouraging aspect of the visits is that most of the farmers are fresh graduates eager to break with the past and start income generating project.

Apart from dairy farming Mr. Kirwa also rears chicken and reaping the fruits of resilience, as he and his wife seek to expand their tentacles in farming in a complete departure from the traditional of growing maize.

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