SUPPORTING FARMERS WITH SEEDLINGS 360 DEGREE WAY
By Steven Mulanda
At the heart of the expansive Kirinyaga County, Mutithi area, along the Nairobi – Embu highway, seedlings revolution being chaperoned by Peter Karanja Ndungu is fast gaining grounds. With modern seedling propagation technologies driving this renaissance in a first of its kind, they are guaranteeing a 99 per cent germination rate, quality seedlings that determine final yields and uniformity in growth.
Agitech Seedlings, the company behind the innovative seeds propagation method, is now working to see farmers have quality seedlings. It is collaborating with over 30 seeds, chemical and fertilizer companies, and with ordinary farmers across Central Kenya. Their seedlings portfolio span from tomatoes, capsicums, chillies, French beans, watermelons, cabbages, to other horticultural produce grown in Kenya.
Having been in the business of agriculture, importation and distribution of agro-inputs for 25 years before moving into the seed propagation, Peter Karanja Ndungu holds propagation dear to his heart, insisting that propagation business is the way to go. The company produces on average 10 million seedlings in a month and is struggling to keep up with the spike in demand.
“Before we ventured into seedling propagation, we have a company named Mazao na AfyaLtd which deals with distribution of agro-inputs. It is situated in Mwea and is the mother company of Agitech Seedlings. On top of that, we have another company named Agri-Price Center Ltd which does importation of agro-inputs. Being in this industry for those many years, I have observed a lot of dynamics, things have actually changed; the way farmers used to farm 25 years ago is not the way they do it today. There are so many things that are changing in terms of technology and this trend has trickled down to empower the farmer in terms of the agri-business space,” he said.
For the last 10 years since the introduction of hybrid seeds, their prices have gone beyond the reach of ordinary farmers. For example, a packet of hybrid tomato seeds that is planted in an acre is retailing close to Ksh 30,000.
Farmers doing their own nurseries are not sure of germination because ultimately it is like a guess work. They have problem of seed germination and also they are exposed to the vagaries of weather among other challenges.
Farmers saw it was no longer viable to buy seeds; instead they began adopting services of professional seedling propagators. Karanja recalls having been in the industry, he discovered farmers were no longer purchasing seeds from the agro dealers but were sourcing already germinated seedlings for planting. However, there was a gap because farmers used to move from Kirinyaga to Naivasha to one of the pioneer propagator in search of seedlings. “Where we are located, that is in Mwea, it is a catchment of a lot of horticulture. This is basically because we are surrounded by an irrigation scheme that avails water to farmers, which has led to many of them irrigating their crops. Most farmers used to take their seeds to Naivasha to be propagated and once they germinate they go back to collect the seedlings, and this was denting their pockets in terms of transportation costs. I saw the gap and decided to support farmers because am very passionate about farming,” he narrates.
Agitech Seedlings was launched last year on the 15thJuly. The dynamics of the launch were little bit intriguing. They invited partners such as seed suppliers but the other suppliers who are trading partners of Mazao na Afya requested to be included. It ended up becoming an Expo drawing together 85 exhibitors and over 3500 farmers. The stakeholders requested the management to make it an annual event and the 2023 edition will be held on 8th and 9thof September.
At Agitech Seedlings, propagation process is done with surgical precision. They use peat moss as the sowing medium due to its higher water retention capacity and a lower drying time ensuring aeration that is key to root development. An automated machine sows the seeds methodically in polystyrene trays. It places the peat moss in the trays, creates planting holes and sow the seeds. The machine is capable of sowing up to a million seedlings a day. Once in the trays, the seeds are watered and transferred to the germination room which has regulated temperature and humidity to ensure they germinate uniformly. The conditions for seeds inside the germination room vary depending on the variety.
The seedlings are then moved to greenhouses where computer controlled technology takes care of irrigation and controlling the roofing to ensure the seedlings access light and shade appropriately. Inside the greenhouses feel like a whole new world. Cascades of metal racks meticulously arranged and teeming with flourishing green seedlings makes it look like a neatly maintained football pitch or lawns. Within 20 to 45 days the seedlings mature and are packed in metal racks awaiting transportation.
“Our idea is to provide a good value proposition for our products. Our resolve as Agitech Seedlings is to guarantee 99 per cent seed germination rate, superior seedlings that are able to withstand shocks like pests and diseases and uniformity in growth and yields. As a result farmers are now able to buy less seeds while getting more yields,” said Lydia Makokha, in charge of production.
After the establishment, something interesting came out. Most of their farmers began enquiring about fruit trees seedlings and ornamental seedlings. With this they have established a unit to serve that purpose and they are also in the process of introducing rice seedlings. The trials for rice seedlings are at the pilot scheme. They have a team of extension officers who visit farmers and advice them accordingly. Currently, Agitech Seedlings boosts of 70 staff employed on permanent terms.
It has not been all rosy for Agitech Seedlings. One of the headwinds the company ran into was when he was doing research on how to establish the business; there were some of the aspects that were scary in terms of the capital outlay such as greenhouses, fertigation unit set up, sowing machine, and automation of the facility.
They sourced for an automated sowing machine from china which in the end the company burnt its fingers because the machine didn’t conform and this forced Agitech seedlings to import another one from Italy which is now working perfectly. Lack of expertise is another challenge they faced. The people they employed were not well trained and they had to train them slowly by slowly.
“For the future, we are exploring to expand and reach out to many farmers as possible. We intend to have sub units in all the horticultural areas like in Loitoktok where farmers can access the seedlings easily,” Karanja concluded.
