Kenyan Farmer Gains Midas Touch
KMDP fair helps maize farmer develop profitable new horticulture skills
Micah Milgo was among 25,000 farmers who attended the 2009 Business Fair sponsored by ACDI/VOCA’s Kenya Maize Development Program (KMDP) in Eldoret, Kenya, in September. Many participants no doubt found the exhibits and demonstrations informative, but Micah came away with a potentially transformative profit scheme.
He was especially captivated by the greenhouse and drip irrigation system displayed by Amiran Kenya Ltd., a small “tunnel” type greenhouse appropriate for small farms.
New skills, equipment to increase income
Milgo scrutinized the design and materials, and back home in Nakuru he built a copy of the Amiran facility on his farm, which cost about 30,000 Kenyan shillings ($367). He calculates that in this small facility he can grow tomatoes worth 500,000 Kenyan shillings over a three-month period.
Milgo’s initial challenge was that he did not provide proper ventilation so that at first the greenhouse became too warm. He made adjustments and now believes he is destined for success. And since he associates closely with a group of farmers, it is likely that his neighbors also will learn from his enterprise and ingenuity.
Milgo’s greenhouse also benefited from a visit by ACDI/VOCA volunteer Dave Adams of Canby, Ore., an expert on greenhouse horticulture. The technical advice Adams shared was timely as Milgo’s tomato plants had just started flowering.
Fair Gains Business, Government Esteem
More than 100 companies exhibited at the 2009 Business Fair, the eighth hosted by KMDP. Each year, the fair has grown larger than the one before.
Participating firms represent all aspects of the maize value chain such as inputs, machinery, financial institutions, insurance, transporters and processors. For example Amiran, the greenhouse manufacturer, finds a natural relationship with a Kenyan company that produces tanks for drip irrigation and input supply companies that can adjust fertilizer application precisely using the drip system.
Because the maize sector is so prominent and has, through KMDP, become more integrated, the associated businesses sense growth potential. They now provide enough financial support to make the fairs self-sustaining.
The fair also got the attention of the mission director and the deputy director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as key Kenyan entities like the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Livestock Development.
USAID funds the KMDP project, which for seven years has helped many farmers more than quadruple yields of the country’s most important staple crop while also improving their business skills.
Fair Stars Non-Farm Services Too
The two-day event also now reaches beyond Kenya’s agriculture sector and farmers. The 2009 fair featured entertainment, free voluntary counseling and testing for HIV, and free blood sugar checkups. Regional youth teams enjoyed a football clinic conducted by a professional coach.
While the fair was diverting, it also prepared farmers like Milgo to become more productive. For example, many of the agricultural experts in attendance, such as those who had been trained in pest management technology, offered their services to fair attendees, particularly to our KMDP beneficiaries who engage in conservation tillage.
Armed with new experiences and skills, what farmer Milgo touches may not turn into gold, but given local market demand for tomatoes, it is almost certain that by adding high-value horticulture to his maize operation, Milgo will enjoy a significant boost in his income.
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