Young Couple Eyes Huge Returns from Pedigree Goats and Sheep

Pure Boran cattle at the Munyu ranch

Mr. and Mrs Francis Kimani cannot recall the last time they bought beef, mutton or chicken at a butchery. When Mrs. Violet Kimani has chicken on her menu for dinner, Mr. Kimani drops by their farm and brings home healthy looking kienyeji (local) chicken. 

 The young couple has 95 cattle, 196 goats and sheep on their 11 acre land in Munyu, Kiambu County. They also have several bee hives, chicken and turkey on the farm. At the age of 30 and 27 years respectively, Mr and Mrs. Kimani may so far sound to many young people like a couple that lives in a village somewhere, where all they do is farming. Well, you would be wrong to judge them as so.

Mrs. Violet and Mr. Francis Kimani at their ranch

The two graduates are rising high on the corporate ladder with their careers. Mrs Violet Kimani for instance, is the Founder and Director of Van kym Consultancy East Africa, the only public relations firm based in Thika town. They are not jobless people who decided to turn to agriculture because they could not find good jobs. They are entrepreneurs who saw an opportunity in pedigree breeding and farming.

 Pedigrees fetch much more in the market

Pedigrees are pure breeds of goat and sheep kept for either meat or milk. Mr. and Mrs. Kimani have 15 pedigree Doper sheep and 62 pedigree Galla goat reared purely for meat. They also have 119 cross breeds.

The difference between a pedigree sheep and a cross breed or a common breed is that after one year a pedigree weighs 150 kgs live weight and the common breed weighs only 80 kgs. In the market, at three months the pure breed or pedigree sheep will cost Ksh. 25,000 while the first generation (FI) of a cross breed costs Ksh. 15,000 and the second generation (F2) of a cross breed costs Kshs. 17,000.

Six months old pure Doper sheep weighing 75kgs

Just in case I lost you there with the cross breed generations I will try explaining it. A common breed doe (female goat) served with a pure breed buck (male goat) will reproduce a cross breed of the first generation, F1. When the cross breed doe is served with a purebred buck the kid is a cross breed of F2 generation. Serving an F2 cross breed doe with pure breed buck will give you a new line of pure breeds.

Mr. and Mrs Kimani target the festive seasons of the year to reap from their flock of sheep and goats. Their top customers are individuals who buy livestock for meat and farmers who seek for breeders. On average the couple fetches about Kshs. 80,000 from their goats and sheep each festive season. Considering their large farm has cattle, chicken and turkey as well, the youthful farmers have a bounty reap during festive seasons such as Easter, Christmas and Ramadhan.

Keeping livestock will always put some money in your pocket even off festive seasons. Each evening Mr. and Mrs. Kimani pocket Ksh. 30,000 from the manure collected in the animals’ sheds. With the current buzz for organic farming, manure is high on demand. Farmers are constantly searching for manure and the Kimani's have it in plenty as a byproduct.

“You can never go wrong with farming. Keeping livestock whether for dairy or meat is the way to go,” avers Mr. Kimani. “Land is fast diminishing in the country. The available land is quickly being developed for real estate. I strongly feel that by 2030, farmers will be the envy of many. Farming will be cool again because it will be lucrative with a few players in it,” he continues.

The Kimani's flock of sheep and goats

You can start small

Mr. Kimani started his ranch with three goats in 2010. Three years later his ranch is bee hive of activities and a host to many animals. “I started livestock farming out of a passion I had for pure breeds. It has now grown into an enterprise with time,” he observes.

The couple will soon register their line of pure breeds with the Kenya Stud Book. This will see their livestock tremendously appreciate in value. This will definitely add a bounce to their happy walk to the bank.

A Research Project Inspired by His Mother Grows into Lucrative Business

Renown world-class companies worth billions of dollars were established by college students. Think of companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.  Often, these companies are products of research projects that graduate students undertake. In a few instances, undergraduates such as Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook and Matt Mullenweg the founder of WordPress have built successful companies.

Mr. Abraham Wahid addresses rosella farmers in Kirinyaga County

 Abraham Wahid may not be ranked with the likes of Zuckerberg, but he is an entrepreneur who conducted his undergraduate research with the aim of turning it into a business empire. At 28 years of age, Mr. Wahid is the director of Rosella Functional Beverage and Foods Company. An enterprise he founded through his undergraduate research.

  

Inspired by his mother

While in third year, Wahid went home for holiday awaiting to join his final year the next semester. As with every final year student in campus, he was expected to come up with a research project. To most undergraduates, research is just another requirement to successfully complete a course. Well aware of the task awaiting him in college, Wahid was keen to note any problems that required further investigation in his field of food science and technology.

On one evening, while at home, Wahid was served an unusual drink that was purple in color by his mother. She claimed that the drink was a rich antioxidant with numerous medicinal benefits. As a food science student the funny looking concoction caught Wahid’s attention and he decided to carry one of the rosella plants to the university lab and test the benefits that his mother claimed.

Rosella plant whose fruits are used to produce Rosella Drink

 Sponsored to carry on with research

Wahid reviewed lots of literature on the plant, studied it widely and documented it for his research project. Following his promising research, he was offered a scholarship by the university to carry on his undergraduate study at masters level. After graduating with his second degree in 2011, Wahid established his company, Rosella Functional Beverages and Foods, with some funding from JKUAT to produce his flagship product, Rosella Drink.

Rosella Drink is a natural healthy juice that is free from chemicals. The rosella fruits that Wahid uses in his production of beverages are organically grown by Kenyan small scale farmers.  The fruits are dried in the sun by farmers before selling them to Rosella Company. A kilogram of dried rosella fruits goes for Kshs. 1,000. A farmer can harvest 500 kgs of rosella fruits from one acre of land. To-date Wahid has 500 farmers in Kirinyaga, Kitale and Taita.

Rosella herbal tea

Rosella company has grown in the last two years to include products such as Rosella Herbal Tea, RosellaWine and Rospyne (Rosella apple wine). Rosella Drink is now the drink of choice in Mwea, in Kirinyaga County where Wahid piloted Rosella farming. The drink is widely consumed in institutions such as JKUAT and Dedan Kimathi University. Corporates also place orders for the healthy drink during functions.

 Research in agriculture pays

“Research in agriculture and food production has great potential commercially. There are many gaps that exist in the agricultural value chain and it is up to the academics to fill them,"  he advises. "I had a hunch that I was onto something big when the university showed interest in my work and  I was called back to do my masters. I really thank my mom for serving me that odd looking purple drink years back. It has employed me and my staff members,” contiues Wahid, currently a PhD candidate at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

5 Benefits of Rosella Drink

Wahid's Rosella Drink

1.      It is free from chemicals

2.      It is an antioxidant

3.      It soothes colds

4.      Helps digestion

5.      It’s very sweet; sweetened by natural honey!

Former Cashier Cashing in on Chicken

After completing her training as an accountant, Esther Mwangi landed a job as a cashier in a firm in Westlands. Like any other fresh graduate, she was proud to have landed a job right in the heart of the city. A few months on her job, Esther had too many needs and her meager salary seemed to shrink every month. With a salary of Kshs. 15,000 and commuting to Westlands from Githurai every morning, she could not make her ends meet. She had rent to pay, she had to feed, clothe and save for the future.

Esther Mwangi, a poultry farmer based at Membley Estate, along Thika Road

“Life was unrewarding to my long hours counting money for my employer every day. I lived hand to mouth waiting on my peanut earnings to get through four excruciating weeks before the next pay day” Esther recalls.

She had to boost her income to survive. She tried her hand at buying chicken from farmers in Kikuyu, Uthiru and Mwiki (Kasarani area) and selling them to start up restaurants along Thika Road. She would buy the chicken on her way from work and deliver them early in the morning before going to work the next day. She would a make a profit of Kshs. 30 for each chicken she sold. Simple economies of scale quickly translated into profit for the young mother of two. 

Selling chicken to boost income

Esther would buy 100 chickens from farmers and make Kshs. 3,000 upon delivering them to restaurants. Two orders a week would make Esther Kshs. 4,000 richer after deducting her transport expenses. In a month, Esther would make more than her salary from selling chicken. It soon made more sense to quit her job and concentrate on buying and selling chicken to the ever growing market.

Getting into chicken farming

Three months into her new business, Esther realized she had too many orders and the farmers she was buying from would not meet the demand. As an entrepreneur she saw an opportunity and grabbed it. She started rearing broiler chicken.

 “This is the wisest decision I ever made,” says Esther. Since 2009, the former cashier has been rearing broiler chicken and supplying it to restaurants along Thika road such as Comfy Inn, Upways restaurant, Eagles Restaurant and Lily restaurant.

Every three weeks Esther has 380 chicken to supply and 500 hundred others that she is rearing. Broiler chicken is only reared for meat and has a fast maturity rate of 6 weeks. Esther always has two groups of these domestic fowls with a three weeks age difference. After selling each bunch she quickly replaces it with one day old chicks and the cycle begins again.

Esther, 34 years old, makes a clean profit of Kshs. 91,450 from her business every six weeks. She has employed two people to help her run her business. She confesses that she can never get back to formal employment even for a higher pay than her the income she gets from her business.

Esther supplies 380 chicken every three weeks

“Chicken farming is simple logic,” she says. “You feed the birds in the morning, then feed them again at around 11 am and feed them one last time in the evening. So long as they are healthy and in a clean environment, you will always smile to bank.” Esther says the simple approach to her business frees up her time to look for new markets, attend chamas and bring up her children.

Entrepreneurship is not for the slothful

Esther advises young people who are wish to get into poultry farming to be hardworking (she wakes up at 5.00 a.m to feed her chicken), aggressive at searching for markets and have a clear goal. Esther is working towards opening a distribution center at Githurai where she can sell her chicken on retail in addition to her existing business. Another key pointer for success in the supplying business is to keep old contacts and treat customers with dignity. Each customer is the key to your next customer. 

As you enjoy chicken on your extended Mashujaa holiday challenge yourself to start an income generating business especially in the agricultural value chain. There is little to lose when you try.

Rearing Quails for Health and Wealth

Four weeks old quail

Quails are currently the hottest birds in the world of poultry. Their demand is insatiable. Anyone who is cautious about their health is rushing for quail eggs. I even heard my pastor last Sunday saying quail eggs will be the topic of discussion during the church health week. Quail meat is low on cholesterol high in protein and sweeter than chicken meat. People fighting and managing chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer are frantically hunting down quail farmers for these game birds and their eggs. Quails seem to be the new found elixir to life’s problems. To agripreneurs, quail rearing is the new irresistible venture that guarantees high returns for minimal effort.

Patrick Muya at his quail cage

Patrick Muya, a 27 year old farmer based in Karatina identified quail farming as a lucrative business to venture into. He loves farming and wanted to set up a business in this field, one that his peers often shy away from, some three months ago. He quit his job at a large farm in Gatundu and decided to get into agribusiness.  Patrick first sought for information on the most profitable business to set up and he narrowed down to two options: dairy farming and poultry farming.  

“I have a strong passion for dairy farming but my key interest was to make a living out of the business I was setting up. Dairy farming requires lots of initial capital and the returns are not very encouraging. Milk in this region (Karatina) goes for Kshs. 25 per liter. I therefore opted for quail farming,” says Patrick.

Minimal Initial Capital

Quail farming requires little initial capital to start off. Patrick started by putting up a structure for the quails. He built a structure that can accommodate at least 300 quails. Quails require minimal floor space to rear. Quail cages should be arm length to allow for easy collection of eggs. Quails require ample lighting and heat for growth and for laying eggs. A structure for housing quails should have ample lighting during the day and at night.

Adequate lighting is necessary for growth and productivity of quails

Patrick's quail cage can accommodate 300 quails

After setting up the structure, Patrick then applied for a license from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Upon approval of his structure, he acquired an annually renewable license at a cost of Kshs. 500. Quails are considered wild birds in Kenya. Anyone getting into this business must therefore acquire a license from KWS.

Patrick then bought 2 week old chicks from a licensed farmer. He had to wait for three months to receive his chicks from the breeder. He says there is a great demand for quails right from when they are hatched to when they mature. “I had to be patient and join a long queue of farmers who were waiting for chicks from the supplier. The demand for these birds is just too high,” observes Patrick.

Patrick’s chicks are now four weeks old. He has 100 birds a mixture of Japanese breed and the common quail. He hopes to start collecting eggs from his quails in the next two weeks. He already has a market in his home area. There are not many quail farmers in his neighborhood, and as such he has a great chance of preaching the benefits of quail eggs and meat to his local community. However before he sells to his neighbours, Patrick hopes to share the delicacy of quail eggs and meat with his family.

High Return on Investment

Return on investment for quails is high. These wild birds mature at an early age of six weeks; the average age at which they start laying eggs.  Each female quail lays one egg a day, a high productivity rate per quail. One  quail egg goes for Kshs. 30-50.  A mature quail bird of about six months can fetch Kshs. 800. Therefore, with 1000 quails and an egg production rate of 70% a farmer can make upto Kshs. 21000 per day assuming that all the 700 hundred eggs are for sale. In one month a quail farmer should recoup the initial investment and start enjoying profits.

Driven by Passion

Patrick says agriculture is his passion and he hopes to reap large from his new venture. “Quail farming is relatively new in Kenya. People are just learning about it. I think the business looks promising especially because there are so many health benefits involved. The only sad thing is that there are very few young people who have embraced quail farming,” he says.

Quit Complaining of Poor Pay

Patrick’s advice to young people who perpetually decry of poor paying jobs is to think of agriculture as a suitable career. He further advocates for young farmer to thoroughly research on their areas of interest. He tells me that all he knows about quails is from the internet. He documents each finding about quails in a note book purely dedicated to quail farming. His mobile phone is an asset to his business.

10 reasons why you should eat quail eggs

Quail eggs have been touted by researchers as a magic wand to numerous health problems. Here are ten of the best known health benefits of quail eggs.

Ø  Promising remedy for managing cancer, heart disease, diabetes and anemia

Ø  Non-invasive cure for kidney stones and ulcers.

Ø  Relief from inflammatory diseases

Ø  Natural anti-aging agent

Ø  Weight loss

Ø  Healthy hair

Ø  Glowing skin

Ø  Child brain development

Ø  Fetal development-good for pregnant women

Ø  Sexual potency

It is recommended to eat 2 quail eggs a day. They are rich in protein, Vitamin A, B2, B6, B12, D and E. Next time you eat an egg, it’s got to be a quail egg.