This archive report was first published on 12 December 2019.
Published on December 12, 2019, Dr Rael Taiy of Lemok village in Kapseret constituency, Uasin Gishu County, has been working to dispel the notion that farming is only for those who lack jobs.
With a doctorate in agricultural and rural innovation studies, agronomy, livestock production, and extension from Egerton University, Dr Taiy has used her expertise to develop her farm, which hosts a variety of crops and livestock.
Her 10-acre farm is home to cabbages, indigenous vegetables, carrots, chilli, beans, plantains, sweet potatoes, and fruits such as passion and avocados. She also keeps chickens, dairy goats, and cattle.
Dr Taiy's interest in agriculture started when she was in high school, as a member of the Agriculture Club at Kapsabet Girls, where they were encouraged to plant crops and sell them to the school.
"As members of the Agriculture Club at Kapsabet Girls, we were encouraged to plant crops and the school would buy them from us. I realised then that farming could be an income earner," Dr Taiy says.
Years later, Dr Taiy has developed an indigenous chicken agribusiness, where she buys day-old chicks at Sh50 and rears them for sale at between Sh100 and Sh250.
"During the period, I ensure that the chicks are vaccinated, dewormed, and intensively fed to speed up growth and good health," Dr Taiy says.
Dr Taiy's dairy venture is another important income earner, where she rears several goats and seven cows in a semi-zero grazing system, saving on costs.
She sells the cow milk at Sh50 a litre to her neighbours, while she consumes the goat milk.
Dr Taiy also keeps tilapia and catfish in two separate ponds, with the water coming from a borehole and rainwater, which she harvests.
The ponds, measuring 11 by 8m each and costing Sh40,000 each to build, have a capacity of 2,000 fish, with Dr Taiy harvesting from each at least twice a year.
She sells the fish at between Sh300 and Sh400.
Dr Taiy is savouring the benefits of mixed farming, where she intercrops her plants to save on land and for the crops to benefit from each other, and uses manure from her animals as fertiliser and in the ponds.
She employs two workers and a host of casuals, and regularly provides technical and managerial support to them.
Dr Taiy advises young professionals to venture into farming, adding that if practised with passion and the right approach, farming is a meaningful income earner.
