Chesire’s impact on agriculture remains an immense legacy

By Leonard Kulei

Baringo, Kenya: From Kasoiyo village in Kabarnet, Baringo County, rose a man who literary babysat the reeling agricultural sector to the enviable breadbasket Kenya is reaping from today.

Born in 1941, Reuben Kiplagat Chesire’s immense contribution to the country’s key agriculture sector remains unrivalled.

Chesire joined Kapropita Primary School in 1948 to cut his academic teeth in the newly introduced colonial school.

While at Kapropita, Chesire realised to his dismay that he was always derailing his studies by sneaking out to herd cattle. This activity, however, was a characteristic feature of any village boy in those days.

But for the young Chesire, it meant something much deeper. It was, therefore, no surprise that he subsequently rose steadily from the ashes of village life to become most successful Ayrshire cattle breeder in Africa and indeed the whole world.

His brilliance, which stunned the white teachers, saw him promoted to the next class after the end of term exams; perhaps this would help explain why he was commonly referred to as a managerial genius.

In 1960, Chesire joined the Royal Technical College, Nairobi (now University of Nairobi). He left in 1962 after successfully passing his London A’ levels.

Youngest district officer

Chesire had a particular passion for agriculture and how to harness its potential to improve the lives of Kenyans. But aside from agriculture, the man fondly known as RK was a mammoth in corporate Kenya and its political system and helped shape systems in post-independence Kenya.

His son, Tim Chesire, recalls that his father, an astute farmer, settled only on what he believed was the best for him and the country. He says his father was a true blessing to the country.

“He was the best dad. He took us to good schools and we will never forget his integrity and honesty. He was everything a country needs,” recalls Tim.

Having started out in the colonial administration, RK’s capacity was noted early by the colonial masters who named him as a District Officer for Kwale in 1962, when he was just 21 years old, making him the youngest ever DO in Kenya.

At such a young age and together with freedom fighter Bildad Kaggia, Kenya’s founding father the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta tasked him with finding a solution to the inter-tribal clashes between the Sabaots – then called the Walakhu – and the Bukhusus in Western Kenya.

The commissions came up with a raft of recommendations, among them the need to transfer Mt Elgon District to Rift Valley Province. However, they were never implemented.

In 1972, RK was elected the first African Chairman of the Kenya Farmers Association (KFA). Owing to his superior managerial abilities, under his leadership the parastatal share capital recorded a historic profit of Sh300 million in 1984.

During that time, he enabled KFA to be vertically integrated, enabling farmers to access credit, farm inputs, machinery and markets. 

Prof Chebutuk Rotich of Moi University says it was through Chesire’s leadership that it became possible for farmers to access credit and fertilisers in the country and especially in the Rift Valley region. He adds: “He also helped teach people in his neighbourhood how to breed pedigree cattle,” says Prof Chebutuk

This unyielding determination became his Achille’s heel and in 1984, after catapulting a nondescript KFA to become the largest farmers’ organisation in Africa, the company was illegally taken over to form the Kenya Grain Growers Co-operative Union, which eventually brought operations to a halt together with the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans.

Chesire’s tremendous success in breeding Ayrshire cattle did not escaped the eye of the international community. As a result, he was elected the President of the World Federation of Ayrshire Breed Society, a position he held between 1981and 1984.

The herd at Makongi Farm was developed from a Sahiwal herd that he took over when he bought the farm from British settlers in 1971. The farm now has what is regarded as the finest pedigree Ayrshire herd in East Africa.

The environment of the farm has been important in the development of Kenya’s Ayrshire herd and has been used to propagate herds using the farm’s current In Vitro Fertilisation Embryo Transplant programme that it recently introduced, but also through the semen produced by its bulls that has served millions of farmers over the years.

Makongi Farm employs over 600 people and is also one of the largest propagators of maize seed in the country.

 Midas touch

Nominated Senator Zipporah Kittony recalls RK as an outgoing man whose genorous spirit and aggressiveness transformed the agricultural sector. She says that he was among the Kalenjin sons whose toils and successes are worth celebrating.

“RK was a man for all seasons. He stepped up when needed and did what impacted the life of the common man. That is why his rise was never a surprise,” observes Kittony.

His management skills appear to have had a Midas touch. During his tenure as the chairman of the African Tours & Hotels (AT&H) between 1973-1981, the country saw an increase in the number of tourists.

This culminated in the listing of the AT&H on the Nairobi Securities Exchange under his leadership and the growth of the entire tourism sector. He similarly served as chairman for many other private and public organisations including the Serena Group of Hotels, Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), Industrial Development Bank and Kenya Dairy Board.

In 1989, Chesire was elected MP for Eldoret North constituency.

While he is remembered for his uncompromising and principled leadership in the tourism, corporate and political spheres, it is his impact on Kenya’s agriculture that remains his greatest legacy.