Nyeri youths park carrots in bags for sale in Nairobi. A sustainable
agribusiness is one that is selected using guidelines, passion and
expertise back-up. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG
To venture into agribusiness, many people opt for what their
neighbours, friends or relatives are doing, without putting into
consideration quite a number of key factors.
Sadly, such businesses end up collapsing soon after because the entrepreneur does not understand what it takes to run them.
A
sustainable agribusiness is one that is selected using guidelines,
passion and expertise back-up. To select a viable agribusiness, one
needs to follow some guidelines, which can also be used by an
individual, group, company, county or national government that intends
to promote agriculture in a given area.
How to select a value chain
Agricultural value chains include crops, livestock, fisheries and forestry.
In
crops, plant options include fruits (bananas, passion fruits, oranges
and mangoes); tubers (potatoes, cassava and sweet potatoes); industrial
crops (cotton, pyrethrum and African bird eye chili); cereals (maize,
rice and sorghum); legumes (beans or soya); vegetables (indigenous
vegetables, snow peas, French beans, sukuma wiki and tomatoes); pulses
(green grams) and nuts (groundnuts or macadamia).
In livestock, the choices include dairy (cattle, camels, sheep
and goats); red meat (camels, beef, mutton and chevron); white meat
(rabbits, broilers, pigs and indigenous poultry) while eggs can be from
indigenous chickens or commercial layers.
In
aquaculture, one can select fish such as tilapia, catfish, trout, common
carp and so on. The forestry section has tree plantations and
agroforestry.
To begin the selection process, list the
critical areas that can limit or favour the agribusiness. The list
should be big enough to reduce the margin of error.
Depending
on whether one is an individual, a group or an organisation, some of
the business enablers or hindrances include the ability of the value
chain to do well in the area where you intend to set up; market demand
for the product; potential for value addition; environmental
sustainability; available resources; infrastructure; ability to promote
social inclusion and gender equity; income and employment generation and
increase in food and nutrition security.
Taking dairy
as an example, if you are in the cold climate of the highlands, goats
and cattle can do well. The same might not be the case for camels due to
climatic adaptability.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Infrastructure include land, water, power, road networks, labour (human and mechanised) and machinery.
Market
demand could be local or wider while value addition means you get more
money from a given product. On capital and infrastructure, dairy goats
for example might require less land and initial capital than cows.
Fish
might require less land than tree plantations while agroforestry can
capitalise on a small piece of land by intercropping trees with crops.
While
an individual might be tempted to prioritise her business using income,
market demand and value addition only, considering other factors, no
matter how small, is important for sustainable agribusiness.
For
example, an entrepreneur who installs his business in a locality and
fails to hire locals or discriminates against a certain gender might
face hostility from those who are socially excluded.
Further,
global trade looks into issues of good agricultural practices that
consider social issues like employment of underage persons.
In
the long run, environmental sustainability is very important as a
business that pollutes its environment will eventually face challenges.
Viability
of a value chain in an area is not difficult to establish as most
landscapes in the country are dotted by them. For example, in some
areas, you will find tea while in others maize, potatoes or beef. In
others, egg and broiler meat production will give the clue.
Assuming
that the value chain you intend to promote is viable in your area, the
next step is to weigh the factors under consideration such that the one
that is most limiting is given the highest weight (score).
See
the table above to get a picture of how a youth group or individual can
choose a viable agribusiness in a county where a number of value chains
can be done.
Once you choose the agribusiness, the
third step is to acquire expert extension advice on the selected value
chain. (Refer to the article, “A model to make extension services work
for the farmer” available online since July 21, 2018).
****
Some popular agribusinesses
1.Vegetable farming: Spinach, lettuce, pumpkin, coriander, broccoli, cabbage and traditional vegetables.
2. Mushroom farming: With a punnet going for Sh150, mushroom has a huge potential as demand rises.
3. Poultry farming: Broilers, Kienyeji chickens or layers offer some of the best enterprises under this category as demand for the products has been on the rise.
4. For someone who is trained in agriculture, consultancy or running an agrovet is also a viable businesses.
2. Mushroom farming: With a punnet going for Sh150, mushroom has a huge potential as demand rises.
3. Poultry farming: Broilers, Kienyeji chickens or layers offer some of the best enterprises under this category as demand for the products has been on the rise.
4. For someone who is trained in agriculture, consultancy or running an agrovet is also a viable businesses.
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