Smart farms

: 14 June 2019; Hits: 7985

Kenyan smallholders to benefit from loans with longer maturity period to boost production

Cabbage farmer in Nyamira County, Western Kenya. Crop producers always face various farming challengers which are traced to finance. Photo Milton Patrice.

Smallholder farmers in Kenya are set to access loans with maturities of up to seven years, longer than commonly available in the market thanks to a Sh5.7bn financing programme launched on Wednesday by European Investment Bank (EIB) in partnership with Equity Bank to help them boost their production.

The Kenya Agriculture Value Chain Facility represents the first dedicated support for long-term investment by agriculture companies in Africa backed by the European Investment Bank.

“Working with Equity Bank across the country on the new Kenya Agriculture Value Chain Facility will help agriculture companies to modernise and harness the full economic, employment and export potential of agriculture,” said Catherine Collin, European Investment Bank regional representative for East Africa.

Equity Bank is the first Kenyan partner to participate in the facility.

“Equity Bank has aligned its strategy with the Big 4 agenda, to focus on growing the Agribusiness portfolio through servicing all segments from retail, to SME to large enterprises and corporate banking customers,” said Polycarp Igathe, Equity Bank Kenya Managing Director.

“This credit facility will be used for on-lending of up to 50 per cent of project costs to beneficiaries who are eligible. The enterprises we are targeting include Value Chain SMEs in agribusinesses that are supporting a smallholder farmer base,” added Igathe.

Agriculture is the leading source of economic activity, employment and exports in Kenya.

The new initiative is designed to increase investment activity by agricultural companies and by making available funding in Kenya Shillings will mitigate against exposure to foreign exchange risks that currently hinder agriculture investment.

The impact of the new Kenya Agriculture Value Chain Facility will be strengthened by a dedicated technical assistance programme.

This will improve financial assessment and monitoring of long-term agriculture investment by local banks.

The new European Investment Bank financing scheme will be supported by a €10 million(Sh 1.145billion) grant under European Union’s Kenya AgriFI programme.

"It is good to see the European Union’s bank partner with Equity Bank as this is the first time the EU funds the private sector in the agricultural sector in Kenya directly," said Walter Tretton, Chargé d'affaires of the European Union delegation to Kenya.

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: 13 June 2019; Hits: 15817

New technology enables farmers to practice upland arrowroot farming

arrowroot planted using damliners technology Farmers in Nyeri Couty growing arrowroots using trenches and liners enabling them to grow the crop in upland areas as opposed to traditional waterlogged areas. Photo courtesy.

Nyeri County government has introduced new technology which will enable farmers to practice upland arrowroot production as opposed to the traditional waterlogged areas which have been threatened by climate change over the past years that has seen the dry up hence can no longer support the crop’s growth.

The new technology will employ the use of trenches with liners which can hold water for a longer time. They will also be filled with soil and manure on which the arrowroots are grown and irrigated during dry season.

In this, the county government provided each farmers group with liners to prevent water spillage, 3000 litre tanks, 500 tubers, pipes and hosepipes for irrigation.

There are also agricultural field officers deployed to help farmers to dig up trenches and lining with UV treated polythene paper filled with soil and manure.

Already one of the beneficiaries Mwereri Good Hope Self Help Group from Kieni East Sub-County and which has been growing the crop harvested 90kg of these arrow roots selling and sold a kilo at Sh150 earning them Sh13,500.

With the new technology, the group hopes to increase production in the coming years and up the farmers’ returns.

Arrowroots matures within a period of 6-10 months depending on the size the farmer desires.

With the new technology, arrowroots do not require a lot of attention in terms of management and practices, pest and diseases control and hence the cost of production is minimal.

It also allows efficient domestic water utilization also allowing farmers in dry areas to grow arrowroots.

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: 13 June 2019; Hits: 7743

Former matatu driver leaves the chaotic industry, finds peace in potato production

shangi potatoes

Two years were enough for Isaac Ndirangu to have a full experience as a driver in the chaotic matatu industry and start a new life in potato farming, a venture he says gives him much peace besides Sh180,000 gross returns a season as compared to Sh20,000 monthly salary.

Ndirangu worked as a driver in Nyandarua County from 2014 to 2016 and he could not cope with the ups and downs which came about with the everyday harassment by the traffic police on what he says were even petty issues.

“It is unpredictable sector to work in. As a driver or conductor, one can just work up early in the morning with the morale to work only to be arrested regardless of the time of the day even on petty offences that one can just be warned,” he said.

Sometimes they were forced to work either very early in the morning or late in the night to avoid arrest just to get something to take home. This is besides the deafening noise that the industry is associated with.

With Sh30,000 savings that he had, Ndirangu left the his job end of 2016 and borrowed an extra Sh20,000 from a friend to begin potato farming, a venture which most farmers in the area were engaged in hence it would be easy for him to get along.

“Potato farming was the best option because I could get seeds easily, and know the right variety to grow and how to grow it from the experienced farmers,” said Ndirangu.

He therefore spent Sh20,000 to buy two acres of plot costing Sh10,000 each for a period of one year. Sh12,000 went on six bags of fertiliser, drugs took away Sh4,000 and labour took Sh3,000.

He then planted on the two acres Shangi variety of potatoes by March 2016. The variety as a fast maturity rate taking only two and a half months to fully mature while the other potatoes take approximately 3 months and above.

Ndirangu would soon harvest 60 bags weighing 130kg each which sells at Sh3,000 earning Sh180,000 gross income a season. He sells majorly to brokers who come to buy the produce at the farm.

This motivated him and he has since ventured into other farming activities such as greenhouse tomato production and dairy farming among others.

He has also formed Nyandarua Farmers Association, a group which comprises of 10 farmers currently who are engaged in various types of farming. Through the group, they also ensure they have a uniform market price for their produce to avoid any sort of exploitation by the middlemen.

Also to the farmers’ advantage is the newly launched Engineer Food Processing plant located at Engineer Town in Kinangop, Nyandarua County which is expected to address the perennial problems of low prices and lack of market for the popular produce.

“We hope to rip full profit from our produce when the plant’s agents will reach us to buy our produce,” said Ndirangu.

Farmer uprooting a potato plant. Photo courtesy.

Ndirangu can be reached on +254713 281542

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