Fields turned to farms, classes poultry houses

Teacher James Kung’u enters a classroom to the noisy cackle of chicken, which scurries away from their feeding troughs as he approaches to pick one of them.

If that was before corona, the classroom at Roka School in Mwea, Kirinyaga County would have been full of pupils and a teacher with learning going on.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing the government to close down schools, Kung’u, who is the school proprietor, resolved to transform it into a farm now that reopening is uncertain.

“Things have really changed. It was fulfilling to enter a classroom and teach children. It is equally satisfying to find the classroom occupied by healthy chicken,” says Kung’u.

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Whereas many schools are now in an unsightly state due to disuse, Roka School is a place of abundance of agricultural produce.

Apart from the classrooms hosting 900 rainbow chicken of various ages, the school field has now been transformed into a garden with blossoming spinach and sukuma wiki.

Blooming produce

Other crops the school is producing include lettuce, tomatoes, onions, capsicum, maize and carrots.

Impressively, Kung’u has engaged the school’s teachers and other staff to work in the farm instead of firing them.

Kung’u previously worked as a public school teacher and started Roka upon his retirement in 1998.

The school had been performing well in the region and had a population of 530 pupils, whose diet was enriched by produce from the school’s garden.

Basing on the lessons from the school garden, Kung’u scaled up production and the outcome has been inspiring.

On the day of this interview, Smart Harvest finds Kung’u and the staff harvesting vegetables for sale.

“The demand for vegetables is high and we cannot even meet it. Spinach has higher demand than sukuma wiki. We sell a kilogram of spinach at Sh30 and kales at Sh20,” he says.

The income earns him and his staff some income, shielding them from loss caused by the school’s closure.

At the farm, crops are planted in different stages so that the school always have produce to harvest and sell.

When the learning was ongoing, the school’s demand for water was high and consequently they had a reliable water supply.

This has come in handy in watering the farm, consistently, especially considering the dryness of some parts of Mwea.

Planted the vegetables

“I had a tractor plough the school farm and we planted the vegetables in ridges for ease of watering. Within a month after planting we were already harvesting and selling,” he says.

For maximum yields, they nourish the soils using manure from poultry. To avoid wastages, the overgrown kales are fed to the chicken.

“Feeding greens to poultry improves the quality of their eggs. It also helps reduce the cost of feeding the chicken,” says Kung’u.

Since his brood is improved kienyenji (indigenous) chicken, Kung’u sells a tray of eggs at Sh600.

With the demand for eggs at an all-time high currently, the many hotels in the area provide a steady market for his produce.

Poultry business is doing so well, Kung'u has consequently ordered for 500 more chicks from a poultry farm in Eldoret.

On poultry management, the team ensures the poultry are vaccinated as scheduled and the poultry houses kept clean, warm and dry.

Roles have been divided among the staff members for smooth running of the farm. 

Head teacher Moses Wandera is in charge of irrigation, while Kelvin Kung’, another teacher, oversees spraying.

School bursar Nancy Wambui is engaged in sales and marketing, while the Kung’u is the technical advisor.

Teacher for 48 years

Kung’u, who has been a teacher for 48 years, advises private school teachers rendered jobless by the pandemic not to shy away from any job that comes their way.

“Let them and other workers who lost their jobs keep pressing and go for any job, even if it is at construction sites, instead of remaining idle and drowning in hopelessness. There are opportunities in farming, businesses and other activities that one can engage in. One should not fear what people would think of him or her,” he says.

Kung’u says Covid-19 has brought with it opportunities for Kenyans, especially in the agriculture sector, considering the country used to import a lot of eggs and other products, but now largely feeds itself.