Flying with the fowls, to the bank

BY NAFTAL MAKORI

Vihiga,Kenya: She started off with only three birds, a cock and two hens, in 2005 and by 2008; she had a population of 600 birds.

But during the 2007/2008 post-election violence, the most unthinkable happened; her investments of three years vanished overnight.

Looters struck at her business situated in the volatile Kisumu’s Kondele area and made away with her only source of income.

Though she had to start from scratch, Margaret Akinyi, has become a renowned poultry farmer in the area and never allowed the theft to pull her down. Due to regular riots that have become synonymous with Kondele, Akinyi relocated to her own secure quarter-acre plot at Manyatta estate.

Ministry of Trade

Unlike many women in Western Kenya who have a phobia towards taking loans from financial institutions, Akinyi realised that for her to succeed, she had to secure one.

Having obtained a Sh70,000 loan from the Ministry of Trade, the enterprising trader ploughed back into her project by increasing her flock.

 “Misconceptions held by most women should be dispelled because if a loan is used for intended purposes, it pays, I have been able to pay back a total of Sh40,000 and I am optimistic that I will soon clear the balance,” she remarks.

The poultry farmer who intends to go for more funds disclosed that she has used the loan to purchase an incubator apart from adding flock.

For the mother of one, chicken is not just a delicacy. She has engaged in value addition and utilizes the feathers of the chicken to make ornaments and earrings.

Akinyi says that marketing for her birds is not a problem because there is high demand for poultry meat within the town.

“We have formed a group known as Kondele Poultry Enterprise through which we market our products at reasonable prices,” she adds.

But her sojourn to becoming one of the best poultry farmers in Kisumu County has not been easy. Her father wanted her become a teacher, her mother was keen to see her daughter become a clerical officer while she had a passion of joining the medical profession.

But as fate would have it, Akinyi is a renowned poultry farmer, a venture she does not regret taking. Akinyi does not regret the challenges she has faced, saying they have instead been an eye-opener.

Akinyi’ scored Division Two in the Kenya Certificate of Education (KCE) in 1982, a grade that could afford her a chance to further her education.

The farmer and trainer points out that her father’s wish for her to become a teacher has been met in the number of farmers she has trained through apprenticeship.                  

                                                      -KNA