In Pictures...HOMEBIOGAS TG1 the “off-grid” Do It Yourself BIOGAS SYSTEM!

The BIOGAS Digester

A new class of Anaerobic Digester that treats both food waste and animal manure, daily producing clean cooking gas for 3 meals and 10 liters of clean liquid fertilizer.


Advantages

·         Treat your organic waste locally

·         Use the biogas for cooking and gas lighting

·         Feed your garden with nutritious liquid fertilizer

·         Save on your energy bill

We are distributing the most advanced, compact and cost effective anaerobic biodigesters. Our systems convert organic waste and animal manure into clean Biogas for cooking, heating and lighting, and also produce filtered liquid, organic fertilizer, while maintaining the highest safety and health standards.


 Our Solutions

The Kitchen Section of the BIOGAS Unit

1.        Recycle organic waste onsite, generating clean Biogas in the most eco-friendly way

 2.         Are very user friendly, pleasing aesthetically and functionally





 

3.        Improve the quality of life, and empower the home worker 

4.        Are provided as kits for easy transport and fast set up

Piping system linking the BIOGAS digester & theKitchen Unit in the house

The full HOMEBIOGAS TG1 Unit. 

Note the Kitchen Garden being supported by the liquid fertilizer from the digester. Note the bucket collecting liquid fertilizer being released. The system is convenient, potable and hygienic. It is suitable foe home and office use.

5.       Reduce the Methane gas emissions that cause global warming, and the garbage pollutants entering our ground water

Kitchen Waste Shredder. This BIOGAS system gives the user a choice of using animal waste (dung) or Kitchen waste. It is suitable for both rural and urban dwellers.

Sweet Sting…Farmers Rip Big in Bees

The ultimate goal of every farmer is to produce as much as possible to meet his subsistence and commercial needs. Today, like never before, there is increasingly diminishing land resources that are supposed to support agriculture. Such resources include forest cover, clean water, clean energy, healthy soils, and a balance ecosystem. 

Because agriculture has ceased being only a source of food and turned into becoming an important source of livelihood, farmers have to make do with the existing challenges and keep farming. This has pushed agricultural innovation a notch higher, and brought to the fore the aspect of integrated small-scale farming, and urban farming. Besides, the long forgotten and underdeveloped farming ventures have been brought to the fore attracting numerous research, infrastructure development and trainings targeting farmers across the board. Such ventures include bee keeping.

Beekeeping is an important means of livelihoods diversification and efficient use of the scarce land resources at our disposal. It has been proven that the only way to secure a people’s livelihood is to diversify it. Bee keeping remains largely underdeveloped in Kenya with most farmers engaging in traditional methods of hive making, honey harvesting and bee management that is 70 per cent less efficient compared to the modern methods. The traditional round hives for example yield an average of 6 kilograms per year compared to 20 kilograms per year for the Kenya Top Bar Hive (KTBH) and the Langstroth hives (uses frames). Other different types of hives used in Kenya in beekeeping include: Pot hives (clay pots), log hives, and basket hives.

There are many benefits associated with bee keeping in terms of enhancing pollination, which enhance crop yields. Bee keeping has almost always been friendly to the environment unless where traditional harvesting method using fire is used for ground bees and those staying in tree trucks. Small fires left behind by honey harvesters have ended up destroying forests in most cases. Beekeepers are known to engage in tree planting and large-scale tree nursery projects that have ended up replenishing the ever-shrinking forest cover in Kenya. 

Like every other agricultural venture, meaningful bee keeping requires excellent management of hives and the bees. Bee keeping is one of the farming activities that require very little time, equipment and land and hence one of the most ideal activities for small-scale farmers in Kenya. There is however a major hindrance in the development of sustainable bee farming in Kenya which is partly blamed on the policy makers, the government and private sector and partly on the farmers themselves.

Notable of all is the forest destruction which is surely reducing the potential of developing the Kenyan bee industry. Similarly important is the lack of or very little bee keeping research meant to develop new breeds and management techniques to be passed on to farmers. 

Farmers suffer from lack of up-to date information of bee keeping, honey harvesting and processing and market intelligence (especially international market). Kenya’s honey market remains largely underdeveloped regarding the volumes and quality produced to warrant European Union market in spite of the license to export honey to the European Union issued to Kenya in 2003. The local market too is too large to be met by the merger honey produced locally. Most honey sold in Kenya is imported from Tanzania and repackaged as Kenyan honey.

Establishing a beekeeping Enterprise, Costs and Profit

Most farmers in Kenya produce an average of 20 kilograms per beehive (in this case, KTBH). With proper management and swarming control, harvests up to 30 kilograms per hive have been realized. Maximum production can be enhanced further by encouraging 100 percent beehive occupation, with some effort on the part of the farmer.

Farmers can opt to incur less packing costs by using plastic jars and bottles especially when targeting local market that is less strict on packaging standards. However, this does not refer to hygienic and food safety standards. In the arid and semi-arid remote areas of Kenya where honey production per hive and the hive population per farmer are high, there is the challenge of honey processing and access to urban market where prices are good and demand high. This is where intermediaries (middlemen) thrive and farmers are exploited. Farmers need to come together and form cooperative societies to increase their market penetration and bargaining power.

A farmer with 10 KTBH hives is able to produce 160 kilograms of honey at 80 percent occupation rate and 20 kilograms per hive production rate. The farmer is able to sell the honey in a semi-refined form at KES 500 per kilogram, being an average case scenario.

Table 5: Costs of starting a 20 KTBH beekeeping business.

Expenditure (KES)

Cost of purchasing 10 Kenya top bar hives @ 2,000 each = 20,000

Cost of buying a bee suit @ 2,570 = 2,570

Cost of buying a smoker @ 700 = 700

Cost of hanging posts (13) @ 150/post = 1,950

Cost of maintenance and other miscellaneous = 500

Total Expenses = 25,720

Revenue (KES)

Estimated Revenue from 8 occupied hives = KES 32,000

Income (KES)

Income in year one = 32,000 – 25, 720 = 6,280 A Profit of KES 6,280 is realized.

Notes

• Estimated honey production from one Bee Hive = 20 Kilograms

• Total honey production from 8 occupied hives = 160 Kilograms

• Estimated local price of one Kilogram of semi refined honey = KES 200 / Kilogram

• Estimated Revenue from 8 occupied hives = KES 32,000

The minimum number of hives a farmer can keep for commercial honey production is 20.

Honey refinement and processing for value addition will attract the urban lucrative high-end market. Small-scale farmers can form corporative societies or bee farmers’ groups to offset the costs of honey processing and transportation.

Check out this blog for more on:WWW.FARMVESTKENYA.CO.KE

·         Insights on Apiary management

·         Bee Hive construction

·         Conditions for maximum honey production

·         Swarm prevention and control

·         Bee feeding

·         Bee Pests and diseases and how to control

·         Honey Harvesting

·         The Market for Bee Products 

MAKE MONEY OUT OF YOUR ORCHARD WHILE IT GROWS.

Dear Readers, Welcome to the new year, which brings with it a lot of good prospects for Agri-preneurs. As we explore the diverse enterprises farming provides to us every day, particular focus shifts to Fruit production. Orchard establishment is an expensive affair. I am interested in sharing with you a few tips on how to establish your orchard and reap big from it before the real trees come to be. I introduce you to PERMACULTURE.

One of the biggest challenges to implementing orchards into impoverished communities is developing long-term goals for financial stability. Farmers do not have the ability to wait for several years before income is generated.  Thus the long term planning to plant an orchard is rarely considered a viable option in these communities.

A diverse selection of long term varieties are planted at normal intervals with intermediate plants trees in between.  The intermediate crops mature faster than the long term trees and will produce income within a few years.  In between the rows of Intermediate crops and long term trees are cassava plants and a variety of native, nitrogen fixing short-season vegetables.  This model incorporates immediate return (vegetables), intermediate (cassava and papaya) and long term (mangoes).

To minimize labor during the dry season, soil should always covered with nitrogen fixing plants, and the fruit trees be surrounded by an outer circumference of some cover grass.  Vetiver (cover grass) with its deep roots, aids in water retention and organic matter building, which hastens the rate of growth for the fruit trees.

The design of the orchard is great example of how the permaculture method of layer farming can be implemented to a allow all layers of crops to be incorporated from groundcover to canopy and to short term and long term models for economic stability.
For more information: http://www.agrowingculture.org/outreach/

INSIGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND TRAINING.... CREATING A MULTI MILLION BUSINESS

I want to share with you some insights out of the very successful training we had over the weekend. For more details please contact us. we will send you a detailed farming manual once you place an order.

·         Basic Consideration

Watermelon is loved for domestic consumption in Kenya especially during hot months. Having their origin in Africa, watermelon is considered a warm crop (Tropical) and need warm growing temperatures  (up to 26 degrees  of day temperatures and above 10 degrees night temperatures) and a long growing season (of between 60 to 80 days). Watermelon thrive in Full sun exposure (do not grow under shade) and Sandy soil type. Days to maturity range from 60 to 90, depending on the variety. 

Watermelon has market all year round, although returns from sales (price of commodity) fluctuate seasonally. Factors affecting Watermelon market include Supply-demand dynamics, change in climatic pattens, geographical location, and availability of alternative fruits.

·         Areas suitable for Watermelon growing

Kenya’s geographical position makes it suitable for all year watermelon farming. Most counties, save for the very cold slopes of Mt. Kenya, can sustain commercial watermelon farming. If it is too cold, you can have mulched beds to guarantee high soil temperatures during the night.

As long as an area experiences full sun in most times of the year, has well drained soils (with adequate sand portions), experiences day temperatures of about 26 degrees and night temperatures of not below 10 degrees and has clean water (free from Chlorine and salts).

Ideal PH for Watermelon Production should be between 6 and 6.8 (meaning almost neutral but slightly tending towards acidic)

Always test your soils before investing into watermelon farming.

·         Planting and farm layout

Watermelon is planted through direct seeding (easiest and more viable).

Depending on farmer preference, Watermelon seeds can be planted in

1.       Holes (Barrows) measuring, 2ft by 2ft by 1ft. The holes are spaced 2 meters apart on either side.

This system is ideal for hot and dry areas, to conserve water and retain moisture.

It is easier to monitor and manage individual plants

When planted in Barrows (holes) as opposed to furrows, management becomes easy. Plants are easily watered, scouted for diseases, and fertilized.

2.       Farrows spaced 2 meters apart. Plant seeds 2meters apart by 2 meters a part (6 feet apart by 6 feet apart).

Accommodates many plants but water wastage and moisture loss is high

If using fuel to run water pump, will require more for the same area.

In this picture, watermelon seeds were planted in furrows. Water loss in very high in furrows.

3.       Raised hills like those for sowing “Ngwaci”. They should be 5 ft wide and plants should be spaced about 2 ft apart (60 cm).

This is ideal for areas experiencing a lot of rainfall and soils are poorly drained.

Watermelon is a heavy feeder and it is good to have fertile soils (do not confuse this with exaggerated application of chemical fertilizers in soil). If your soils are “tired”, consider amending with manure (compost, green farmyard)

In using manure, ensure it is fully decomposed (dark in colour, warm and smelling nice. I should be completely dry) to avoid bacteria causing Fusarium wilt / Wireworms.

Avoid heavy manure applications close to planting. After application, plow the land to bury any maggots and eggs laid by pests. (Otherwise, AVOID using manure)

            NB: Please seek help in preparation of good manure. We help farmers with manure technology

·         Husbandry

Avoid salt accumulation in soil at all costs only a tablespoon full of fertilizer per plant is enough. Too much of it affects soil properties.

         

Watermelon harvested, sorted, weighed and loaded into a waiting truck

      Fertilization

During planting, the farmer may opt to incorporate planting fertilizer (fertilizers with high phosphorus content), or opt to do it later.

The first fertilizer application (fertilizers with high phosphorus content), should be within 1 week after planting the watermelons (if planting fertilizer wasn’t used). The same rate of fertilizer should be applied 2 weeks later (fertilizers rich in complete NPK, trace elements, foliar feeds, Calcium). The third application (fertilizers rich in trace elements and Calcium Nitrate), should be made when the first fruit set. A fourth application needs to be applied 2 weeks before the first harvest (CAN and Boron). The fifth application should be applied right after the first harvest to have good production in the second and third harvests (Complete Application).

         

NB: We prepare detailed fertilizer plans for our clients according to individual farmer’s requirements.

Order for this and other detail Farming manuals on 0707 170 000 or 0720 428 568

Farmvest Kenya Limited

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