FIELD VISIT ITINERARIES

Beryl Opiyo – Belano Enterprise Limited

35-year-old Beryl Opiyo, the founder of Belano Enterprise Limited ventured into peanut butter processing after high school in 2013. She rented a place in Kibuye Market, Kisumu Central Sub-County, and installed a grinding machine that could process 30kg of peanuts daily. The company output has since increased to 100 kg per day owing to Practical Action’s support on enterprise development training and linkages to a pool of young entrepreneurs producing the crop for aggregation and value addition.

She currently packages the product in varied sizes ranging from 250g to 1kg. She has engaged six employees and two casuals who are called upon during busy seasons. She sells her products to small shops, mini-markets, supermarkets, and wholesalers. She has also rented a space in Nairobi for physical pickup or delivery of products for online shoppers. Her most successful channel has been working with the youth and women as sales agents through a commission-based agreement.

To take the product a notch higher, the company adds some honey to enrich one brand of peanut butter, while another brand is sim-sim flavored. She also sells peanut flour and peanut butter packaging tins. She has also secured product quality certification by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).

Joash Adongo – EcoKud Limited

This 34-year-old entrepreneur of EcoKud Limited is collaborating with Practical Action to promote regenerative agriculture. His core business is breeding Black Soldier Flies (BSF) to produce larvae, which are highly nutritious and affordable proteins used by animal feed manufacturers. The company produces at least 15 kgs of BSF larvae per day.

In addition, the enterprise sells BSF larvae directly to farmers for feeding poultry, fish, and pigs. Traditionally, fishmeal and soyabeans have been the key protein sources for animals, but their cost and availability pose challenges to smallholder farmers. The enterprise also trains prospective BSF farmers, sells BSF Starter Parks for new farmers and BSF frass as fertilizer.

Robert Mtange – Beekeeping

Robert Mtange, a resident of Kisumu East, is a trained carpenter. He started and grew his beekeeping enterprise to supplement his craft in carpentry but soon realized its economic potential from the few hives. In early 2016, he expanded his bee colonies (hives) to 30 with a view of extracting more honey to meet the market demand. Currently, he packages honey at different volumes and sells it within Kisumu County. The young entrepreneur also offers pollination services to horticulture farmers, especially passion fruit producers, taking the bees in colonized hives to farms. He charges between Ksh 2,000- 3000 per hive.

Through the beekeeper’s platform formalized by Practical Action, Robert has additionally been contracted to construct low-cost hives, earning additional income to diversify into poultry rearing. He has gotten the opportunity to network with various market actors enabling him to access a ready market for his honey and poultry.

Kennedy Ojwang’

Kennedy Ojwang’, 34, and his wife Jecinta Ogone, 29, operate Kenn’s Farm Enterprises which focuses on poultry production. They are also involved in African Leafy Vegetables (ALVs), groundnuts, agroforestry, fish and dairy farming.

Before joining the TREYL project as a mentor, Kennedy’s biggest challenge was the high cost of poultry feeds but after attending TREYL-facilitated training on agroecology, the couple adopted hydroponics fodder, vermiculture and termite trapping which have reduced production costs and boosted profits. The other products from vermiculture technology, such as vermicompost and leachate, are used in their horticulture production as manure and pesticide.

Both Kennedy and Jecinta are members of a Youth Savings and Loaning Association (YSLA), where Jecinta holds a leadership position. The couple uses the YSLA platform to lead conversations on various subjects including gender equality in agriculture and entrepreneurship.

Fredrick Jura

29-year-old Fredrick Jura is an entrepreneur from Seme Akado village, Kisumu County. He initially worked in Nairobi as a sales agent for a private company dealing in household items. At the time, he preferred white collar jobs, including low-paying ones. He moved to his rural home in 2016 to focus on agribusiness.

In December 2019, the TREYL project onboarded Fredrick and introduced him to a group of young people engaged in farming. He was taken through various training including vermiculture, hydroponics, poultry farming, and horticulture production using organically produced manures from vermiculture units.

Fredrick identified a big opportunity in vermiculture (worm production) and decided to increase the numbers and sizes of worm bins from 1 to 4. He promoted the technology to the local farmers in the village, especially the aged farmers. Vermiculture technology made Fredrick access a huge market within Seme sub-county and beyond where he was selling leachate (vermiliquid), vermicompost and live worms to other farmers.

From the sales he managed from vermiculture proceeds he bought his first motor bike. In 2020 he scaled up his horticulture production concentrating on kales, spinach, onions, tomatoes, and African indigenous vegetables. He grew business connections with institutions such as secondary schools, orphanages, to supply vegetables (kales) weekly for feeding programs. He also supplies a group of young women selling vegetables in different local markets every week.

Everline Adhiambo Akoth

Everline Adhiambo Akoth is 34 years agroecology champion who practices integrated farming on her farm in Nyakach Sub-County. She engages in poultry, rabbit, dairy, fish, groundnuts and horticulture value chains.

The TREYL project has trained her in vermicomposting and hydroponics. She also participated in exchange visits and one on one coaching.

She has reduced her cost of production, increased the number of animals on her farm with incomes also increasing from Ksh 3,000 to 15,000 per month. She is using the poultry and rabbit waste as manure for her African Leafy Vegetables and onion farming thus diversifying incomes and improving soil health.

She now provides local youth with vegetable seedlings, agronomic expertise and marketing services, enabling them to boost their income. Furthermore, through training and coaching, she supports three youth groups to adopt the Youth Savings and Loans Associations (YSLA) model to address access to finance by youths. Everline has employed two temporary employees in her agribusiness.

Moses Obong’o

Moses Obong’o is a young farmer from Nyakach Sub-County. Moses owns different crops and livestock enterprises on one farm that are interlinked to reduce wastage and cost of production.

Among the practices and technologies on his farm include chicken farming (produce manure for vegetables), growing vegetables, vermiculture (chicken feeds, manure decomposition, leachates as foliar for vegetables) and hydroponics production (chicken feeds).

Moses has over time expanded his enterprise due to increased benefits from agribusiness. He has experienced a significant increase in income, averaging Ksh. 9,000 to Ksh. 25,000 per month.

Mercyline Nyaoke

Mercyline 34, practices crop and animal husbandry on her farm in Nyakach Sub-County. She engages in poultry rearing, fish production and horticulture on a medium scale. Mercyline has adopted vermiculture technology or rearing of red Italian worms as chicken feed and to create nutrient-rich compost for her vegetables. She also uses the vermi-juice from the vermiculture operations as foliar fertilizer, hence reducing the purchase of expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticide for use on horticulture crops. In addition, she does hydroponics or growing of chicken feed as well as termite trapping which have helped in supplementing protein for her chicken. This has reduced the cost of feeding the birds.

Collins Onyango

Collins Onyango is a 26-year-old medium scale agriprenuers from Muhoroni Sub County with a passion in poultry production. He engages both on-farm and off-farm poultry value chains, including brooding, hatching and rearing day-old chicks. He is one of the many young entrepreneurs who were identified by Practical Action under the Transforming Rural Economies and Youth Livelihood (TREYL) project to mentor other youths to embrace agriculture, particularly poultry production as their mainstay.

After interaction with Practical Action, Collins identified the niche of hatching, brooding and selling of chicks to farmers who have limited experience in raising day-old chicks. In addition, he has also supported the establishment of brooding sites owned and managed by young men and women. The sites help his business in the production and distribution of healthy brooded and vaccinated chicks.

The TREYL project has provided Collins with networking opportunities that have enabled him to form mutual partnerships with other poultry value chain actors such as agro-dealers, other commercial incubator entrepreneurs, aggregators, traders, processors, and veterinary services supporting the expansion of his business.

Mark Ogado

Mark Ogado is a 35-year-old Agroecology champion from Muhoroni Sub-County. He has been practicing mixed farming for more than six years and owns several enterprises, including chicken and horticultural crops. He raises red Italian worms as chicken feed and uses by-products such as leachate and vermicompost are applied on his horticultural crops. He is also using leachate as insect-pest repellent and Vermicompost as soil organic matter booster.

Horticulture production is one of Mark’s enterprises, earning him money every day. Mark grows different horticultural crops along River Nyando where he is using the water from the river to irrigate his crops. He majors in capsicum, spinach, cabbage, kales, hot pepper, onions, coriander and tomatoes. His main target market is Awasi, Ahero, Chemelil and Muhoroni towns where he registers groups of retail women selling complementary horticultural products. Mark works with five workers – two permanent and three taken as needed.

Mark being one of the agroecology champions, has also been promoting agroforestry where he grows specific fruit trees like mango, pawpaw, lemon, worm wool plants for malaria treatment. He also practices integration of multipurpose trees, different crops, and animals together in his one-acre piece of land.

Collins Ochieng Wambura

Collins Ochieng Wambura, a 34-year-old entrepreneur started producing Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae for his own poultry and selling the surplus to other farmers doing fish, pig and poultry farming. He started small and was producing 4-6Kg of larvae but could not satisfy the market demand.

Through Practical Action’s intervention, Collins was supported to construct a BSF unit near Rabour Slaughterhouse in Kisumu County, where he is getting huge volumes of slaughterhouse waste for BSF production.

So far, his scale of operations has increased, and he is producing at least 100 kg of BSF larvae and 450 kg of organic manure per day. He has three employees. He is also producing 50 grams of BSF eggs per day and supplies them to other BSF farmers producing larvae for fish feeding.

Collins has been able to increase his income from Ksh 12,000 to Ksh. 35,000 every month. Dudu Proteins Enterprises has trained a total of 26 young people (6 females and 20 males) taking up the BSF production at community levels. Collins also established another site at Korowe where he employed three young people to assist in production and management of the worm, eggs, and frass (compost manure) for sale.

Boniface Otieno

Boniface Otieno, 27, is a dedicated entrepreneur and a prominent advocate for agroecology from Homa Bay Central Ward. He has been actively involved in horticulture farming for more than four years, growing different exotic and indigenous vegetables such as spinach, cabbage, kales, African nightshade.

Boniface has been keen on tapping into readily available markets within Homa Bay Town and its environs. He has mapped and engaged a group of women vegetable vendors who pick the supplies from his farm and deliver to the neighbouring local markets. Boniface also supplies tomatoes and kales to some local hotels and primary schools under the school feeding program.

Most of his customers prefer his vegetables because they are organically produced, and their supply is steady.

Besides being a staunch horticulture farmer, Boniface is also a gender champion. Proceeds from his farms have enabled him to build rental to provide him additional income.

Victor Odhiambo

Victor, 32, is an avid poultry farmer from Kendu Bay Township. He started his poultry enterprises in 2018 with only 30 birds for both meat and eggs. With Practical Action’s support through linkages and training in enterprise development, the agri-prenuer identified a niche in the poultry value chain: the incubation and brooding of day-old chicks.

He invested in an incubator with the capacity to hatch more than 5,400 eggs monthly. With this, he supplies neighbouring farmers with day-old chicks. He also gives incubation services to other farmers at a small fee. The farmer also sells fertilized eggs from his flock of 150 hens. To cut down on poultry feed costs, he produces Azolla (a protein-rich aquatic plant) and hydroponics to feed the chicken. The young farmer also produces geese and guinea fowl to supplement his income. From chicken alone, Victor gets an average monthly income of Ksh. 70,000 Shillings.

The entrepreneur is an inspiration to other young people. He mentors them about the poultry business. Currently, he is working with 24 young people who are following in his footsteps. Occasionally, these mentees provide a market for the chicks that he produces.

Stephen Odhiambo

Stephen is a young, small-scale agricultural entrepreneur who practices mixed farming in Suba North Sub-County. He has adopted sustainable methods in his enterprise, resulting in high productivity without causing ecological harm.

One of his notable practices is vermiculture, involving the cultivation of Red Italian worms. He also uses vermiliquid, a byproduct from the worms, as a foliar for his vegetables to increase productivity and control pests. In addition, Stephen produces organic manure from the worms to nourish his vegetables. He plants his vegetables within conical gardens under protective shade nets to control solar exposure. The entrepreneur uses a water tank and solar pump that the TREYL project supported him to buy to harvest rainwater and store it in ponds for future use.

Before he ventured into farming, Stephen frowned upon agriculture and did not consider it profitable. However, upon interacting with Practical Action and learning new farming approaches advocated by the program, he decided to give them a try. Within three months, he made the decision to transition from his employment and fully commit to farming. Stephen says he earns more from agribusiness than his previous employment.

Nereah Oloo

Nereah has a twenty-acre farm, which is big by local standards. As an agroecology champion, she has adopted novel regenerative agriculture technologies. Different crops are produced on the farm, ranging from fruit trees, namely mangoes, guava, pawpaw bananas and passion fruit. She also produces horticultural crops like tomatoes, watermelon and kales. Beans and cowpeas are planted not just for income but to improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. She also grows sugar cane, maize, sweet potatoes and African Leafy vegetables (ALVs). Dairy cows and poultry are the main livestock kept as a source of organic manure.

Nereah uses organic approaches to produce crops on her farm. Compost manure is used to provide nutrients for crops. No synthetic fertilizer is used on the farm. The farmer has mastered the art of using plants like aloe vera, tithonia and onions to produce pest repellants. Traps are set atop mango trees to attract and kill any invading fruit flies. To conserve soil moisture, maize stovers and sugar cane leaves are used as dry mulch. Similarly, sweet potatoes and cow peas are planted amidst fruit trees to act as green mulch.

The farm is used as a learning center for the community around her. Neighbouring farmers often visit the farm to learn how to produce crops without using synthetic inputs. She has inspired and mentored more than twenty young people to take up farming as a business. Nereah says that despite challenges, farming is indeed profitable business.

Regina Awuor Adhola

Regina, 28, is an industrious woman from Homa Bay Central with remarkable abilities of producing and marketing horticultural crops through diverse ICT platforms and peer-to-peer interactions. She targets women and men groups supplying horticultural products to different markets. She grows African Nightshade, spider plants, cowpeas, kales, cabbage, spinach, and tomatoes.

Regina manages numerous Youth Savings and Loaning Association (YSLA) groups, which she effectively utilizes as markets for her farm produce. She also supplies her products to schools that operate feeding programmes.

During the tomato and vegetable harvesting seasons, Regina offers short-term employment opportunities to 7-10 young women to select, grade, and package the produce for sale.

Charles Munga

Charles Munga, a young farmer, has embraced innovative practices on his farm that maximize productivity within limited space. Despite having less than an acre of land, he produces a diverse range of products, including poultry and various horticultural vegetables.

His farming approach is meticulously organized to minimize waste. Chicken droppings are used as manure for vegetables while waste from vegetables is utilized as chicken feed. Through a hydroponics unit, Charles cultivates foliage which serves as supplementary chicken feed.

In addition, Charles produces red Italian worms to supplement other types of poultry feed. The vermiliquid derived from these worms serves as a foliar feed for vegetables. Beyond delivering crucial nutrients to the plants, it also functions as a natural insect repellent. Importantly, the farm’s products are organic, devoid of synthetic inputs within the production process.