This archive report was first published on 31 August 2019.
August 31, 2019
Meru-based poultry farmer Hodge Mutwiri has defied the odds to become a successful entrepreneur in the livestock feed industry.
After retiring from Pollman's Tours and Safaris, Mutwiri started a poultry farm in 2016, but he soon realized that keeping chickens for subsistence and selling to neighbors was not enough to make a living.
He then decided to venture into the feed-making business, importing machines from China and investing Sh5 million in the venture.
Today, Mutwiri's farm produces chicken, dairy, and pig feeds, with a capacity to process about six tonnes a day.
He sells the feeds directly to farmers, with a 50kg bag of chick mash going for Sh2,300.
Mutwiri sources feed ingredients like maize, cotton seed, and minerals from Uganda and Tanzania, where they are cheaper.
He also buys soya meal from Malawi, India, or China and molasses from Kisumu.
Despite the challenges he faces, including the high cost of feed ingredients, Mutwiri remains optimistic about the future of his business.
He has hired a livestock production expert to run the farm and oversees the other five workers to ensure maximum production and profitability.
His main challenge is the high cost of feed ingredients, with a bag of maize currently going for an average of Sh3,500 locally.
Quality feeds must have maize, sunflower, wheat pollard, and soya as well as amino acids and many other ingredients, Mutwiri notes.
He says there is a need for the government to look into the quality of animal feeds in the market and address the cost of raw materials.
