Campaign Story

Every couple of years, severe droughts hit many parts of Kenya. The poster child of these drought bouts is the thousands of emaciated animals that new channels show every news hour. Some of the animal herders also relocate their herds to cities creating confusion as the animals compete for road space with cars. This age-old problem can be resolved through proper pasture management, harvesting flood water and long-term storage of feedstock. This project aims to start a scalable solution to this problem.

Project Goals

The goal of this project is simple. I want to create a commercial solution for farmers by acquiring land to produce and store feedstock over extended periods. The main products I target to produce are hay and silage which farmers can buy at affordable prices during drought seasons. The farm can also serve as a sanctuary where farmers can relocate their animals temporarily during the drought seasons so that they can access feeds and water onsite. Its easy for a farmer with tens or hundreds of animals to sell 10% of their herd and save the rest, rather than gamble the entire heard on unpredictable weather outcomes.

When the project works as envisioned, I hope to inspire other entrepreneurs to start similar projects all over the country and region at large thus providing sufficient food and safeguarding the livelihoods of millions of people.

The Roadmap

Preparing well for a drought is no easy task since no one really knows when it will materialize and how long each bout is likely to last. Therefore, any mitigation plans need to have the staying power to last until the day finally comes and accumulate sufficient resources to have a significant impact during the drought period. For this project to succeed, a few factors are necessary:

• Authority to harness the available natural resources
• Appropriate storage resources
• Targeting the right resources

The best authority when someone wants to harness natural resources is owning the land. The first step in this project is acquiring a sizeable piece of land in the Laikipia plains, 40 acres in total, and fencing it off to keep other people from grazing or interfering with the activities within. This way, the natural tall grass species that thrive in the area can grow uninhibited over the rainy seasons. Dedicating 30 acres to hay production can produce 6000 to 12500 bales annually (approximately 250,000 kgs of feedstock).

Harvesting feedstock without having a proper way to store it is a waste of resources. For instance, hay bales barely last 2 weeks when exposed to moisture but last 3 years when safely stored. The next step is establishing large barns that can accumulate the harvest for several years in the lead-up to the drought seasons. Two acres within the land will host the barns. The rest of the land will be dedicated to dam construction to collect surface runoff when it rains.

Capital Requirements

Land purchase

Demarcation and fencing

Land in the area goes for Ksh 600,000 per acre. Fencing the entire 40-acre perimeter will cover 3.2 kilometers requiring at least 1400 poles. So we’ll start with locally available poles which go for Ksh200 per pole to keep the costs manageable.  The project is capital-intensive at the start but will be highly beneficial to all. My main contribution to the project is 10 acres of land which I already own – the funds raised will cover the purchase of the remainder 30 acres and fencing.