The outbreak of Covid-19 virus in the country two years ago led to massive loss of income for many families but it was an eye opener for a chief in Gakawa location, Nyeri county who devised poultry farming to complement his salary.
Charles Kimathi who also doubles as the Gakawa location chief, in an exclusive interview with KNA at his home in Gakawa, says that Covid-19 halted the normal way of life, challenging him to start the agribusiness project which he says has helped him educate his children.
“Being a civil servant, I decided to have a part time job in Agribusiness to top up what I am getting from the government. Especially with Covid-19, I learnt a lot of things because you are supposed to do other things apart from what you normally do,” reveals Kimathi.
The 48-year-old points out that, with his role as a chief, he is motivated to lead by example and encourage his community to thrive in what they do.
“Being a leader and especially chief, you are supposed to be all round, a teacher, farmer, business man among other things and through that, you are able to encourage people,” says the Chief, adding that he tends his chicken before reporting to work at 8 am.
Kimathi, who is also a father of four says, he started his poultry business nine months ago with initial capital of Sh 50,000 and now it has boomed.
He reveals that for the broilers and layers cheeks, he sources the breed from Kenbreed and Kencheeck companies respectively.
He says that, with the poultry farming business where he has about 500 chickens for eggs and 1400 for meat, he generates about Sh 105,000 monthly.
The chief sells his products to hotels and supermarkets and the price ranges between 400 for a tray of eggs and Sh500 for 1.5 kilogram of slaughtered chicken. He says they mature within a month.
Kimathi notes that his poultry business also comes with challenges like high cost of feed and diseases. However, reveals he works closely with a veterinary officer to control birds’ diseases.
He further says, he targets to expand his business with over 10,000 chickens.
The chief says those wishing to start poultry can do so since it requires less capital to start.
The father of four says that for the chicken wastes, he uses a manure at his farm where has planted the trees that are used to make external body oils and perfume.
Apart from poultry farming, the chief practices dairy farming at his homestead in Gakawa location.
