Francis Obong'o at his dairy farm which he co-owns with his wife Phoebe Atieno at their Nyajanja village in Homa Bay County. [Kevine Omollo, Standard]
In 2018, Francis Abong’o was among the employees of Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (Kirdi) who were set to retire.
Few months into retirement, his employer organised a seminar on retirement planning and it was an eye-opener.
“The talk was compulsory, and during the session, the organisation asked everyone to mention areas where they could be given some short training to gain skills which would help them in retirement,” recalls Abong’o.
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Abong’o chose animal feed formulation. Two years earlier, he had acquired a dairy cow which he was to be part of his retirement plan. However, he noticed that feed was a huge challenge.
“I thought if I got some knowledge in feed formulation, I would better care for my dairy cow,” he says. He got the training.
Soon he retired and relocated back to his rural home in Nyajanja village, Homa Bay County. By then, he had two dairy cows; one he acquired from Bomet County, and another from his village after a family sought to dispose an Aryshire paid as dowry as they could not care for it.
Today, he has six dairy cows; three lactating, two in calf, and one set to be served.
Fulfilling job
According to Mr Abong’o, at 63, he has just begun a new career, and he is fast scaling the heights, after installing a milk ATM at the nearby Olare Market, where he sells milk.
Being dry most part of the year, water and vegetation are scarce, making it difficult to rear animals, but Abong’o is dispelling this myth through his dairy farm.
He has become more active than he was in employment, as he is engaged on the farm for 17 hours every day.
His daily routine
His day starts at 5am with cleaning of the cowshed and the feeding equipment.
“Hygiene is key in this business, so the first thing I do is to clean the cowshed for about an hour before I begin milking,” he says.
According to Mr Abong’o, it takes between seven to 10 minutes to milk each cow. He has no milking machine, so he does it using his hands.
He says the milking has to be done very fast within ten minutes so that the cow does not hold back some milk which could lead to mastitis infection.
He gets between 40 to 60 litres of milk on a daily basis depending on the number of cows lactating.
After milking, he provides feed and water. He says he provides about 45 kilos of dry matter, mostly hay, and water.
“We get most of our feeds from a supplier who gets them from Narok,” he says.
With the help of his wife Pheobe Atieno, he pasteurises the milk and transports it to his milk ATM at Olare Market, some two kilometres from his home. He sells milk at Sh60 per litre.
Milking routine
And by noon, the milk is over, and he goes back home to begin another round of work at the farm.
During the day, he checks on the health condition of the cows, calves, and provides any necessary services required.
Another cleaning of the cowshed is done around midday, with the help of a farmhands man who also helps in preparing food.
By 4pm, another cleaning is done in preparation for the evening milking session, which takes place before 5pm.
He says he spends about Sh1,200 daily on meals, the highest in his expense list due to a shortage of feed.
Other expenses include Sh6,000 monthly for the farm helper and Sh150 per week on pesticide spray.
“We also provide the animals with the dairy meal, saltlick, and molasses which helps in milk production,” he says.
Ms Atieno, a teacher at Alara Primary School says she spends most of her free time helping her husband in the farm. The milk is on high demand, she says.
“There is shortage of milk around here. Many times the milk runs out before we meet the orders,” she says.
