Farmers in panic mode as curious quail business bubble goes burst

By KIUNDU WAWERU

KENYA: The bearded man with a receding hairline laughs uproariously when he recalls how he started rearing quails ten years ago. Then, Geoffrey Kago claims Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) licences (to rear the birds) were free.

Then Kago also claims that he gave out the quail eggs for free.

But that was then. Today, quail eggs cost more than silver and gold combined. The miniature, coloured eggs are believed to be the perfect cure-all.

Kago, who claims to have been among the pioneers, if not the first person to rear quails in Kenya, says the eggs indeed have curative powers.

“As a foremost agricultural researcher with a passion for poultry especially wild birds, I have studied quails and believe they can cure impotency,” he says.

But most Kenyans who have gone gaga over quails believe they can cure virtually all ailments.  From conditions such as hypertension, digestive disturbances, and erectile dysfunction, the mineral-rich egg has been touted as the ultimate medicine.  This drove the cost of the eggs and quails to new highs.

Kago, who has been covered extensively in the media for his innovative farming (one article of 2011 said his business was worth Sh10 million), admits that business has been good.

“I started promoting quail farming on radio and television in 2009. The interest started rising and by 2012, we were selling an egg at Sh10, then Sh20 and before I knew it, was at a high of Sh100 as demand went up.”

After Kago’s intiative, the Government and NGOs stepped in, supporting the initiative as a poverty eradication tool.

KWS from who farmers must get a licence, increased the charges from Sh500 to Sh1,000 and then Sh1,500.

Kago blames the internet for the hype surrounding the birds, which has seen quail business being branded a pyramid scheme.

“It is not a pyramid scheme but a business overtaken by hyper investors out to get rich quick,” Kago explains.  

He says this was not his intention when he popularised quail farming through television and radio. He says he did this after seeing women protesting that their husbands were denying them conjugal rights.

But business is not as good as it once was. It is no longer such a money spinner.  Caroline Wanja, who has more than 300 quails, blames the brokers for creating the hype that got almost everyone rearing the migratory bird, without showing them the market.

Ironically, while smallholder farmers are running scared with most disposing off their stocks as their fortunes dwindle, large-scale entrepreneurs are buying more eggs for hatching. 

Lucy Ndungu of Sigona Rabbits who has ‘thousands’ of quails, brooders, layers, the breeding stock, says she is in it for the long haul. “Those who came in for quick money will eventually cease the business. I believe it will stabilise,” she says.

Value addition

“The Government should open doors for exporting as we know the markets, but we are not waiting in desperation. We are on the second phase of quail; value addition,” says Kinyanjui, another farmer.

Interestingly, the Government is not talking much about the now troubled business.  When we contacted Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Felix Koskei he said: “That has got to do with wildlife, let me consult and get back to you.” He never did. Paul Udoto, the Corporate Communications Manager, KWS said: “Our mandate is to licence.”

“They (the government) are lying low after all the talk about the quails business being a pyramid scheme,” said one of our interviewees.