Lessons from hospital farm on mixed farming

Pushed to the wall by harsh times and negative effects of Covid-19, one hospital in Nakuru County has embarked on mixed farming to make ends meet. 

Mary Monari, the Marigat Catholic Mission Health Centre Hospital in-charge says the facility has embarked on pisiculturefish keeping, chicken, pigs, dairy rearing and crop farming to manage costs.

“Life has become hard for everybody and to stay afloat, one has to think out of the box. So for us, this farming project has come in handy,” Monari says. 

So far, Monari says they have 500 kienyeji chickens on free-range system for easier management and saving feeding costs. The birds are reared in different stages- chicks, growers and layers for continued supply of eggs and meat.

“Feeding of chicken is cheap because we do free range. We also supplement feeds with chick mash and give layers mash to enhance production of eggs,” she says.

The facility has 100 birds that are laying eggs, A crate of thirty eggs goes for Sh 300 while a mature bird for meat is sold at between Sh400 and Sh800, depending on the demand and supply.

Vaccination schedule

Lucky for them, they have a steady market from the area. “Demand for eggs and birds is high and supply is low. That is a good mix for us,” she says.

To keep the birds healthy, the nun says they follow a strict de-worming and vaccination schedule.

To boost their income, they also rear tilapia through raised fish pond technology which incorporates movable ponds. The ponds are with locally sourced materials.

The hospital chose to rear tilapia due to the readily available market.

“Through this fish project, the community has learnt that fish does not have to be reared in a lake. The locals are picking up fish as an alternative source of protein,” says the nurse.

Each of the two ponds has at least 300 fish.

For proper aeration and for the fish to thrive, they drain the pond every two months.

The fish are fed on pellets supplemented with omena. “Crude proteins is highly encouraged and the feeding is done in the morning and in the evening for optimal growth,” says the nurse.

With proper management practices, the team harvests the fish when they are between six and eight months.

Medium size fish is sold to locals at between Sh150 and Sh200 per piece.

To improve their fishing venture, the facility works close with county department of fisheries.

The livestock section

The hospital also has six Sahiwal dairy breed, 24 exotic goats and 15 pigs. Each mature Sahiwal bull is sold at Sh40,000 while pigs cost Sh20, 000 each.

Each dairy cow produces at least eight litres of milk every day, for hospital consumption and sale to employees, at Sh50 per litre.

Monari says they decided to venture into dairy farming due to the high demand for milk from patients, employees at the facility and the locals.

“We used to spend about Sh1,000 on milk, and at times, we could fail to get any so we decided to give farming a try and the venture is doing very well.” To ensure the animals have constant supply of feeds that boosts milk production, the hospital grows hay, Napier grass and maize on our two-acre farm.

“To avoid shortage of feeds especially during drought, we deiced to grow animal feeds. Proper feeding is vital in dairy production that enhances quality and quality of milk,” she points out.

For quality breeds, the facility sources for Artificial Insemination services from contracted local dealers at a cost of Sh1,000.

Proper disease-management is also a critical component at the hospital farm.

Diseases like East Coast Fever are managed through regular dipping including de-worming after every four months.

“Veterinary officers visits our farm regularly to advise on best feeding practises and disease control,” says the nun.

They also pay subordinate staff with the farm’s proceeds.