A Laikipia Cooperative Society is advancing loans to farmers to venture into contracted chicken rearing.

 

As a contractor chicken keeper, the farmer will invest and build chicken rearing infrastructure and work closely
with a chicken production and processing company that Siraji Sacco will bring on board.

 

Laikipia County Revolving Fund has advanced the Sacco Kshs 7 million for on-lending to its members under the
chicken rearing venture.

 

Just like in any other business, the farmer will be given working capital by Siraji Sacco to buy the stock or
improve the breed.

 

We have a good working relationship with the county revolving fund and we will be partnering to support small-scale farmers by availing affordable credit through our micro-credit department. CEO Siraji Felix
Ochieng said.

 

The County Government Department of Trade, Tourism, and Cooperative has previously supported the Sacco by
availing funds through Laikipia County Revolving Fund in 2020 for a similar project.

 

Farmers groups were given improved kienyeji chicks from Kuku Yetu Company to rear them and resell them when they
mature. As of March 2020, the farmers had been supplied with 22,000 chicks but due to travel restrictions during
the lockdown, they could not supply the chicken to Kuku Yetu Company which is located in Nairobi. This
necessitated a survey to devise ways in which to mitigate such recurrence in the future.

 

The company was responsible for technical support and bought the chicken directly from the farmers. The money
would be deposited directly into the account of the farmers after deduction of the loaned amount.

 

The re-launch of the project is intended to increase the consumption of chicken meat, create employment and
increase the earnings of residents in the county. The farmer will be providing day-to-day care of the birds,
land, and housing on which they will be raised.

 

The benefit of chicken contract farming is that it eradicates about 95% of the risks from farmers. The move is
expected to motivate farmers to rear quality chicken in a sustainable way by giving the top priority to earn
more during the selling time.

 

The guarantee of the market is a huge incentive as there will be no cases of farmers being unable to sell their
chicken or having to sell at a loss. It will also enable small-scale farmers to diversify their business.