Smart farms

: 23 October 2019; Hits: 11367

Quality feeds give pig farmers over 30 per cent more profit

pigs photo by OxfordWords blogjpg

Farmers feeding pigs with commercial or formulated meals are making up to 34 per cent more profit than those who resort to kitchen and other wastes with the hope of cutting down production costs.

Commercial and locally formulated meals served in the required rations give high quality pork besides controlling the growth rate of the pigs. Pork processor are importing pig meat to upgrade the local low quality produce.

A grade one kilo of pork fetches Sh215, excluding bonuses, while a similar quantity of rank five earns Sh160 in major markets like Farmers Choice.

Eldoret-based micro-fund Agrofrontiers Co-founder Evans Kimosop said strict adherence to outlined feeding routine has enabled them to deliver grade one pork to Farmers Choice.

The micro-fund owns Kanes Farm. The farm as at November 2016, had a stock of 240 pigs. The model of the micro-fund is pooling funds from friends and investing in agribusiness- the pig farm being the first project.

Te pig project is earning them more money unlike two years ago, when they started the agribusiness group and invested in a poultry project that saw them loss over 700 chickens.

Kanes Farm delivers 5-10 pigs every month to Farmers Choice, which is one of the region’s biggest pork processor.

At first, the group relied on commercial meals, which cost them about Sh30 per kilo. The group is growing four-months maturing maize to upscale production of their own meal to reduce costs.

Sunflower and cotton seeds are among the ingredients of in the formulation. This has reduced the cost per kilo to Sh23. Kimosop said that by next year, the cost will come down to Sh17 thus translating to improved returns.

With the cost of raising a pig to maturity at about Sh10,000, the group makes at a profit of Sh5,000 from each pig at the end of six-seven months.

At least 28 sows are expected to givebirth t internals to increase the population to more than 300 by 2017.

The group hopes to venture into value addition to increase returns instead of selling the pigs for pork.

Agrofrontiers have a majority stake with Kennedy Kipchumba being the invested farmer with a shareholding stake at Kanes Farm.

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: 22 October 2019; Hits: 9830

Poor coffee prices push Nyamira farmers to pawpaw farming

migori pawpaw farmers being trained

Nyamira County residents are turning to pawpaw farming to top up earnings from bananas to shield themselves against coffee losses resulting from poor markets and theft of the beans from factories.

According to Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE), coffee prices has been on a downward trajectory this year due to low quality beans coupled with depressed international prices with the price of a 50-kilogramme bag dropping to Sh8,800 from a high of Sh9,800 in the recent past.

Farmers in Nyamira North Sub-county, who previously predominantly grew coffee as the main cash crop, are taking advantage of the expanding hospitality industry in the Kisii region to increase revenue bases.

Mose Nyambane of Geturi Village, Magwagwa, has more than 200 bananas and about 50 pawpaw trees, which are now suppressing the neglected cotton bushes in his farm.

From the scattered pawpaws, the farmer said he makes more than Sh2,500 every month from the continuous harvest of the fruits.

“I little knew about the pawpaws until World Vision introduced them to me like other farmers here. I did not want to risk cutting a section of the shamba for a crop that I was not sure of its performance. That is why they are scattered among other crops. For the two years I have had them, I have seen a higher earning potential than coffee,” he said.

Nyambane picks between 50 and 100 fruits every month, and he sells them at prices ranging from Sh50 to Sh100- depending on the size.

Pawpaws cannot pollinate themselves. He has two male pawpawas against the about 100 females.

Apart from the flowers, Farmbiz Africa counted up to 60 fruits in some trees, with a potential of weighing more than one kilo each after harvesting.

Cutting down coffee

Nyangaresi Nyamira is another farmer, who has 14 trees standing beside his 10-beehive house in Borioba.

His story is the same as that of Nyambane.

“Apart from weeding the tree does not require much attention. The only caution one should take is to avoid wounding the tree because it will start rotting, creating a hollow tunnel at the centre up to the head,” Nyamira said.

Coffee bushes in his farm also stand unattended, as he contemplates cutting them down.

Pawpaws consumed in Kisii town, Nyamira, Keroka and other urban areas in the region are ‘imported’ from other counties.

That is what is giving these farmers a competitive edge as retailers come round in search of the fruit, which they buy on wholesale. Besides selling them at local open markets, the fruit are also sold to high-end and middle class hotels.

Caption: Farmers being taken through pawpaw farming during a farmers' field day in Western Kenya. Photo courtesy.

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: 22 October 2019; Hits: 9529

Poultry waste increases milk output, earns Kabete farmer double income

poultry chicken d

Willie Ngige, a poultry farmer in Kabete, Kiambu County is earning double income from his layers and their wastes thanks to the latest research by FAO that poultry wastes can increase milk production tenfold a day something that has pushed high the wastes demand by dairy farmers in the area.

According to a research by Simeon Jonathan on Effect of Feeding Poultry Waste Based Diets on Milk Production for the University of Nairobi, the protein content in poultry waste ranges from about 14 to 33 per cent and this can boost milk production by at least 10 litres per day and help dairy animals attain a breeding weight of around 260 kilos by 18 months.

Ngige has been keeping layers from 2010 for eggs but he has since learnt that the sawdust he uses as beddings for the chicken after sometime when they are mixed with droppings offer good feed for dairy farmers.

“I used to discard the wastes or offer them freely to as manure to crop producers from the surrounding but after learning, from other farmers that the wastes are good in dairy, I have taken advantage of the many dairy farmers in the area to commercialise them for extra cash,” said Ngige.

RELATED ARTICLE: Solution turns sawdust into pig feed

Ngige who currently has 500 layers has been buying 10 bags of sawdust (wood shavings) weighing 70-90 kilos each from timber dealers in the area. These he says is enough for his chicken for a period of six months.

However, after every one month he collects the wastes after they have been laid on by the chicken and turn colour and use 1cm wire grid to sieve off through before packing them for the market.

In this he realises 4-5 bags of 80 kilos per month which he sells to dairy farmers at Sh800 each making up to Sh4,000 per month.

“Farmers come for this feed on a monthly basis and sometimes I receive prior orders from the farmers who want theirs preserved specifically for them by paying in advance,” said Ngige.

Besides the feeds, Ngige also collects up to 12 crates of eggs per day which he sells at Wangige Market in the county at Sh280 per crate earning him Sh3,360 a day and a total of Sh104,800 per month.

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