You are watching the local evening news and just when its about to end they feature an entrepreneurship success story about a certain farmer somewhere in Kenya. Suddenly you are interested about farming and you are impressed with how easy it looks. You open your phones browser and you start researching about what you have just seen to prove if its true. Starting a farm is the most crucial step before engaging into any farming activity. You have to be prepared because starting a farm requires so much more than the knowledge of how to grow crops. We are going to give a step by step guide on how to start a farm in Kenya.
Research: Try and learn as much as possible about the practice of farming. There are a lot of useful materials online that can help you know a thing or two about farming and what its all about. If you know anyone doing farming you can also approach them and ask them for advice and guidance, this can really go a long way.
Planning: You need to have a solid business plan at hand. Identify what you are good at and what you are not. Survey the land that you own or want to buy and find out what kind of farming activity works well there. Take the farm soil to a credible soil test facility for testing to find out which crop is best suited for your land. Many people in Kenya tend to ignore soil testing and go straight to planting only to fail later and complain how farming is hard.
Capital: Its always good to start small if you don’t have enough money for farming. Try and avoid debts because this will pull you down. I am not saying that getting a loan is not bad but it needs to be done with caution. Try to apply for grants from agricultural institutions or borrow money from a family member or friend to jump-start your farm.
Equipment: Before you start the actual farming process you should be prepared with all the necessary things you need. If you want to get into horticulture you need to buy all the requirements i.e F1 seeds, fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides etc. If you want to start a dairy farm then you need to buy good cow breeds, animal feeds etc
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Comments (16)
help me get fund to start farming am a form 4 leaver
Hi Moses. The best way to get funding if you are a form four leaver is to find a group of friends and form a youth group. This will enable you to pool your skills, resources and knowledge together. After you form the group you can all raise a total of Ksh 30,000 then apply for the amiran greenhouse farmers kit on their website http://www.amirankenya.com
your advice is vry encouraging tell us the size of a space should one have ?i want to statt poultry n rabbit pls i need seminar urgently i hv. space n finance to keep 2000chicks.am retiree.am in kericho?
Hi. We are happy to hear you want to get into serious farming.
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Hi. Am a beggining farmer currently doing vegetable farming. I am really intrested in knowing how to go about keeping good and accurate farm records. Thanx
Hi Neddie. We are glad that you you have seen the importance of farm record keeping. If you want to know more follow this link graduatefarmer.co.ke/importance-of-keeping-farm-records/
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I would like to start diary farming in lugari/western Kenya.what’s the best breed of animal will be suitable and of which age.I need to start from scratch approximately how much do I need to have.thanks
The information is very usefu to me. Can you advice me on how much I can invest in farming half an acre in Molo.
I work with Agri-irrigation and boreholes systems where we supply irrigation materials and construct green houses but now am thinking of venturing in Agri business please advice me on how to start it. Thanks in advance
Thats owesome!I usually ignore record keeping and I have known where my past failures originated:Its high time I have to change that altitude and take it on a serious note:Kudos for your fabulous info,You are the best and we expect more from you….
Hi I would like to know how I can run a successful farming business from far.am employed bug has a 5acre farm in kitale which I would like to put into good use pliz your guidance will be vry important carol
I want to know what are the best places in Kenya to buy the farm
I have a half acre of land in Mombasa and want to start farming. I also have plenty of land in turbo that is lying idle because I don’t know the first thing about farming. I have finances as I am.retiring, how do I begin to think of what to grow.
Hello.I am in my late 20s and I am really interested in farming as a full time job.I seem to hate what I am currently doing and would like to pursue this full time.My biggest issue is that I know nothing about farming.My family has a small piece of land and a very insecure area but I am still interested.The one thing I know for sure is that I can put in the physical hard work.It is also sometsomething I believe I am quite passionate about.I have fears that I might be day dreaming.Ibwould love to spend a weekend or a few days on someone elses’ farm to see how they work.Is that possible please? Will you be able to help me learn more please?
i am a missionary in Kenya and want to farm to help feed others, i was raised Mennonite in Lancaster county on a dairy and cash crop farm. how can i get started?