Connect with us

General News

Kenya: Farmers Decry Reduced Profits As Prices of Animal Feeds Rise

Published

4 years ago

on

[ad_1]

When Ms Florence Muthoni retired from the now-defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunication Corporation (KPTC) in 2000, she had high hopes of setting up a poultry agri-business.

She used part of her Sh1 million retirement package to set up the business on a piece of land she had bought in Njoro.

In the first few years, business was booming. She was selling eggs to hotels in Njoro, Molo and Nakuru towns.

“I made good profits and diversified into dairy farming by buying two cows, which have since increased to four,” said Ms Muthoni.

However, today she cannot sustain the venture due to the high cost of animal feeds, which she says she cannot afford.

“The cost of chicken feeds has more than doubled. A 70kg bag of chick mash, which I used to buy at Sh2,500, is now going for Sh3,300. If you add transport costs, a bag of chicken feeds comes to nearly Sh4,500,” she said.

She said she had to scale down her venture from 400 birds to less than 100.

Feeds quality deteriorates

She explained that, apart from the increase in prices, the quality of the feeds has also deteriorated.

“I used to collect about 50 trays of eggs in a week, but the birds are laying fewer eggs. I suspect the chicken feeds are adulterated,” she lamented, adding that the price of drugs has also increased by 50 per cent.

“I cannot afford to call a veterinary officer to inject my chickens as I used to do a few years ago. I simply cannot afford his professional fees,” she added.