Armed with a wealth of experience from Israel, Gilad Millo is on a
mission to make agribusiness appealing to the youth. Mr Millo, who is the head
of business development at Amiran Kenya, has been at the centre of a campaign
demonstrating how farming can be financially rewarding, just like any other
profession that attracts the youth.
“Farming shouldn’t be taken as a last resort. Its potential is
enormous, especially if the youth have it as the first job on the line. We are
introducing greenhouses in schools, youth polytechnics and groups as part of an
initiative to develop the next generation of farmers; Facebook farmers,” he
told Money.
“The average age of the smallholder farmer in Kenya today is estimated
at over 45 years. This means that in the next 20 years, a good number of them
will have retired, yet the younger generation is not interested in farming,” Mr
Millo noted.
Although the greenhouse technology has already won the hearts of
several corporates, donor agencies, the horticulture sector keen on the export
market and non-governmental organisations fighting hunger, it was yet to get
significant traction on the national scale, especially among the younger
population, as it is now doing after catching the eye of the youth fund.
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| Roses in one of Amiran Kenya’s commercial greenhouses. The company has
partnered with other institutions to empower the youth in Kenya through
profitable agribusiness projects. Photo/COURTESY
|
Money follows the campaign to find out why thousands of young people
are fighting to be on the shortlist of the 420 groups to receive smallholder
farmers’ kits from Amiran Kenya; the benefits that the greenhouse concept presents;
its challenges; what to look out for before sinking money in it; and why
commercial banks and insurers are joining the fray.
Under the first phase of the Sh150 million Agri-Vijana Loan project
being implemented in partnership with the Youth Enterprise Development Fund,
every constituency will get two greenhouse kits.
A similar project is also underway, targeting 100 youth polytechnics
across the country in the pilot phase. The entire project aims to install 600
kits. Almost every crop — from vegetables to flowers — can be grown under
the greenhouse, but farmers must ensure that what they plant will have demand.
“Many of our clients have chosen to grow tomatoes because it is a high
yielding cash crop. But there are others who are growing capsicums (pilipili
hoho, which come in orange, red and green colours). These fetch high prices in
the market, about Sh320 per kilogramme. Some youth at the Coast are growing
sweet melons and cherry tomatoes,” Mr Millo said.
Farmers should also study how accessible the existing markets are for
their produce because the goods are mainly perishable.
The total cost of the Agri-Vijana farmers kit (AFK) is Sh358,344. This includes two greenhouses, a drip irrigation system for the two
greenhouses and a 400-metre open field, group training, agro support, insurance
and eight per cent management fee. The loan has no interest fee, but the beneficiaries will be expected
to raise 10 per cent of the initial cost.
The pilot project shows that it takes between one and two seasons to
break even and start making profit, depending on the crop. A season is six
months long. A complete greenhouse kit also comes with a collapsible water tank,
and insurance for the crop.
“The kit also has an outside. You have the greenhouse growing cash
crops but the outside, which is covered by drip irrigation for growing cabbages
and sukuma wiki (kales) can provide additional income of about Sh100,000,
depending on the crop,” Mr Millo said.
According to Amiran farmers, an 8-by-15-metre kit fetches between
Sh250,000 and Sh380,000 while a 8-by-24-metre greenhouse can make between
Sh350,000 and Sh550,000, depending on the crop’s market.
The fresh produce earnings put to shame crops like maize, where an
acre produces an average of 15 bags which, at Sh2,800 per 90-kilogramme bag,
fetch about Sh42,000 in a good season. “A women group in Kilifi that sold Sh120
per kilo of cherry tomatoes instead of the predicted Sh50 per kilogramme more
than doubled our expected income calculations for them,” Mr Millo said.
But farmers will have to part with between Sh150,000 to Sh250,000 to
have the kits installed. A complete kit comes with a package of seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals, and tailored training from Amiran’s agronomists.
The model farms are equipped with drip irrigation systems which feed
water directly to the plant. The system is timed to drip only the needed water,
cutting wastage to the bare minimum. Data from the youth fund shows that 264
youth groups have already applied for financing, laying claim to Sh93.6 million
out of the Sh150 million up for grabs.
