We don‘t regret quitting our jobs for eggs and milk

BUSIA: Would you give up your well paying job for a career as a farmer?

Antony and Patrick Onwonga from Amerikwayi village in Busia County did just that. The two brothers, aged 27 and 29 respectively, quit their banking and marketing careers to venture into poultry and dairy farming three years ago. They have never looked back.

“My job was demanding and I had just begun practising farming. I had to quit to concentrate on the farm and continue pursuing my education,” says Patrick, a former sales manager at Barclays Bank.

Their passion for farming as a family keeps them going. Last month, they registered their company, Ecobro Agri Solutions Ltd.

The two brothers brood chicks for interested farmers using an automatic controlled computer incubator machine, which has a capacity of 4,200 eggs.

“We undertake incubation brooding with the help of a computerised machine. We brood as per the demand of farmers,” says Patrick, who is currently studying for an agri-business degree at Kenyatta University.

To meet the high demand for chicks, they have two additional small automatic incubators, one with 264-egg capacity and the other with 1,056.

“In this market, one must plan ahead as customers must be satisfied. The two machines are on standby all the time,” he says.

“The efficiency of the machine is 85 per cent. It is hard to get 100 per cent results as some eggs don’t hatch. With 400 eggs, we get between 300-350 chicks,” says Anthony.

The machines can continue working for 5-8 hours in case of power outage. “A standby generator is in place to assist in the continuity of the incubation process,” says Anthony.

The two intend to purchase another machine with a capacity of 10,000 eggs by the end of the year.

However, scarcity of broiler breed eggs in Busia and its environs has forced the two to import them from neighbouring Uganda.

“But we shall soon be producing our own eggs. We are just about to buy 200 layers and 350 kienyeji chicken to supplement our supply,” says Patrick.

Transportation remains the duo’s biggest challenge. “Ferrying the chicks by use of public transport is not convenient. The chicks are delicate and on several occasions we’ve incurred losses. In December, when transporting the chicks to Kisii, we lost Sh20,000,’’ says Anthony.

Apart from Busia and surrounding counties, the two sell their chicks to areas as far as Narok, Kisii, Nairobi, Nyeri and Kisumu. On a good month, they make as much as Sh200,000 in profits .

Their goal is to produce 25,000 chicks per month up from the current 3,500, a feat they hope to achieve in one year.

The brothers also boast of a mixed herd of eight Friesian, Ayrshire and Jersey breeds and seven calves. Their daily production ranges from 110-115 litres a day.