Smart farms

: 13 November 2018; Hits: 12507

Loans helps small scale farmers fix adjustable biogas digesters

Small-scale dairy farmers can install adjustable plastic biogas digesters on loans, which are repaid in installments of up to 24 months.

GesiShamba Biogas Systems Coordinator George Mwangi said the flexible terms allow for farmers to pay as little as Sh3,600 per month for the smallest digester of two to three cows capacity.

“The programme targets farmers who cannot raise the whole amount at once, but still need this gas in cooking and other domestic uses,” he said.

There are three sets of the plastic digesters, whose prices and monthly installments vary. The down payment for the 24 months loans is uniform, Sh15,000, for the medium, large and extra-large sizes.

The medium size, which can process cow dung from two or three cows, requires Sh3,600 monthly installments. For those who can pay the amount in five months, they deposit Sh40,000 and remit Sh8,500 in installments.

For the large and extra-large, the monthly installment is Sh4,700 and Sh6,500 respectively for the 24month repayment plan.

Twelve-month repayment plan is allowed too.

The medium capacity digester can save a family of six between Sh18,000 and Sh20,000 spent in buying commercial cooking gas per year.

The amount of gas produced, Mwangi said, cooks for four to five hours non-stop in two burners running consecutively. The amount of dung required is 30kilos mixed with 30 liters of water.

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Dairy farmers conserve environment with biogas digesters

PlasticBiodigesterGesiShamba

Plastic adjustable bio-digester. Photo/GesiShamba

According to a report published by the Society for International Development (SID), a total 65 per cent of households in the country use primitive fuels, mostly firewood (64 per cent), as their main source of cooking fuel, followed by transitional fuels, ordinarily charcoal (17.0 percent).

Only 6 per cent of households use advanced fuels, typically liquefied petroleum gas (5 per cent). The use of transitional fuels is seven times more in urban areas than in rural areas. On the other hand, the use of primitive fuels is four times more in rural areas than in urban areas.

Four million people die annually as a result of lung and heart related diseases arising from solid fuels according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In Kenya, the WHO report of 2016 estimates that at least 14,300 people die annually from health conditions arising from indoor air pollution.

Mwangi can be reached on +254723114472.

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: 13 November 2018; Hits: 8438

Farmer creates online platform to help colleagues access best breeding services

artificial insemination in dairy cows

A dairy farmer who has been fed up with poor services from fake cow breeders has created an online marketing platform to connect other farmers with best breeders hence directly spurs their dairy production.

“Five years ago when I wanted to invest my savings in the diary business, I grappled so much with the market source and even conned for a breed that was not hybrid,” said Biko Kithenji.

A quick interaction with farmers later made him realize that there is a very big gap between the right information for markets and the real farmers doing the business.

Having endured a painful start into his project that is now thriving with over 15 dairy cows in Mweiga, Biko set his eyes in amending the status quo and the disconnect between the dairy breeders (farmers) and the market.

In order to champion this cause on his low budget, he settled on using the internet and initiating online marketing for breeders that is now paying off dividends with over 15 breeding farms under his custody. Internet penetration is on the rise and Biko was keen to tap in these rare opportunities.

He managed to create a marketing company, Green Field marketing Agency with a lot presence on social media for marketing purpose. As fate would have it, his efforts have started paying off with many of the digital farmers responding to his call to action.

The strategy is working and confirms to be getting over five enquiries daily. On the other hand farmers who are doing breeding bushiness have steadily developed trust in him and given him the green light to help them source for the market which is always a thorny issue among many farmers.

He has over 15 breeding farms that have registered with him to market their animals. Once they have agreed with a specific breeding farm, Biko takes the details of the animals in question which include the type of breed, milk production capacity, disease resistance, feeding habits among others.

He also takes the pictures of the animals and sets off to do what he enjoys. According to him, the farmer pays nothing for the service. His fee is borne by the client who will be interested in the animals.

“Once a prospective client has appreciated the animal in question, I arrange the field visit and we visits the farm. The client then gives us a commission of Sh2000 which carters for my logistic costs. Once he has paid us our fee, they then negotiate with the farmer and at that stage we are not involved,” explained Biko.

He believes that the farmer has the skills and pricing model of his animals and therefore they only link up the buyer to the right breeder.

The success he has attained through this process has seen him get inquiries from other farmers who are in dire need of his marketing services.

On a good day, Biko is able to raise over Sh6000.

“The breeding business is seasonal and most of the breeders have a specific period that they need my services. Once their animals are sold, they embark on breeding of more which may take about 6-12 months. Currently I have farmers from Ruiru, Kiambu, Kinangop, Nyeri and Murang’a.”

“I have got inquiries from farmers in Naivasha and have plans of expanding my area of work because I also get buyers from as far as Eldoret,” explained Biko.

The success in dairy animal marketing has made him think of diversifying into other ventures that include crops.

According to a report done by FAO on smallholder farmer market access, Markets continue to be seen as the means for ensuring that smallholder producers of agricultural products are effectively integrated into the mainstream of national economies, especially in developing countries.

For one thing, markets provide the opportunity for farm production to contribute to poverty reduction through the cash income realised from sales of farm produce. In turn, markets drive production as farmers strive to meet the demands of consumers and end-users in terms of quantity and quality. But their very existence, or how effectively they function, cannot be guaranteed in many developing countries.

Biko’s effort are therefore no aloof as his market sourcing idea is geared towards seeing these smallholders become more productive, more market-oriented and better connected to markets than before. Some categories of these smallholders, usually called emerging farmers, are more market oriented than others because they produce purposely for local, national or international markets.

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: 12 November 2018; Hits: 17717

Murang’a wine maker training farmers on commercial production of grapes

A Murang’a County farmer who started commercial production of grapes last year is training prospective farmers to produce their own grapes in a move aimed at diversifying sources of income.

“At the moment, I am pursuing ways of sharing the acquired grape farming knowledge to others who would like to venture into the space. In this, I have developed a curriculum on how to establish and manage a vineyard and I am in the process of having the curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA) program,” said Mwangi.

Mwangi says he is willing to take farmers through the entire lifecycle from learning about grapes, seedlings acquisition and hand-holding them until their vineyard is up and growing.

What prompted him to start training farmers is the fact that very few people have ventured into vineyards commercially in Kenya as 90 per cent of grapes consumed in the country are imported.

Thus, the knowledge and information to establish and successfully manage one has been an uphill task.

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grapes muranga

Grapes. http://www.centralvalleyvineyard.com/

“The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization has not been of much help because their model farm is not in a good shape, however they have provided useful theoretical information”

“We had to research a lot from the few established vineyards, online articles and guesswork to reach the position we are in right now. Equally, different sources have given us differing information regarding the same enquiry and therefore we have had to try our best to strike a balance based on our climatic and weather conditions”

Mwangi is an ICT expert by profession but does grape farming as a hobby.

He was inspired by a visit to a commercial vineyard and winery in Morendat-Naivasha in 2015 to co-found Central Valley Vineyard with her partner and he is the Chief Executive Officer.

They conceptualized the idea after visiting a retired teacher who grew grapevines in half an acre farm and literally lived off it.

“I realized this is what I wanted to do, establish a vineyard that will bear fruit for the next 60 years and make good wine out of it, both as a hobby and a commercial venture” said Mwangi.

“In an industry dominated by only imported grapes and wine from South Africa and Europe, we decided to dive deep into the art of establishing a vineyard for production of fresh grapes initially and eventually venture into making wine. Through that, Central Valley Vineyard was born”

He harvested approximately 150kg of grapes which he sold to various consumers who had already booked the fruits before maturity. A kilo fetched him between Sh600 and Sh700. He is expecting to harvest 0.5 tonnes of the fruits in April next year, three times more than the first harvest.

Mwangi can be reached on +254 722 972 162.

He harvested approximately 150kg of grapes which he sold to various consumers who had already booked the fruits before maturity. A kilo fe

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Tuesday, 17 August 2021 [quote=Jane morara]Great article, how do I get vines[/quote] Hi Jane, contact M...

Wednesday, 12 May 2021 Great article, how do I get vines

Saturday, 03 October 2020 i wish to visit your farm on monday 5th. Advise pls.

Sunday, 05 July 2020 Where do I get you in muranga