lifestyle

The Bungoma farmer reaping big in poultry, making Sh1.8m per month:Story of Joseph Waswa

Poultry farming is becoming one of the fastest-growing and profitable businesses in Kenya. If you are considering venturing into poultry farming, it is essential to know that there are success stories out there. In this farming segment, we will take a look at the success story of Joseph Waswa, a poultry farmer based in Bungoma.

Joseph Waswa started his poultry farming business in 2020, where he began keeping around 10,000 birds on his two-acre farm known as Melpa Poultry Farm located in Webuye, Bungoma County. He rears both Lohmann brown and in-brow type of birds, and he had no knowledge of the market opportunities when he started.

Despite the challenges he faced, Waswa took a leap of faith and tried his luck. Today, he is happy about his decision, and his farm is doing very well. He has a ready market within Bungoma for his eggs, which he sells in schools, shops, homes, hospitals, and other institutions at between Sh270 and Sh330 per crate.

Waswa spent his initial capital on the house structure, chicks, feeds, medicine, and farm equipment. Starting his venture was a bit challenging, but he was able to expand. Currently, he rears more than 13,000 birds, mostly layers, and his farm has birds that are 12 months, 11 months, 10 months, and 3 months old.

Waswa’s main markets are Kakamega, Webuye, and Bungoma towns, and his birds lay about one hundred crates daily. The price of eggs fluctuates once in a while in a year, depending on the market demand and supplies.

To cut the cost of production, Waswa makes feeds at his farm. He decided to get his machine that churns out feeds to save on costs. Sometimes he sources the feeds from Mbale, Iginga, and Tororo in neighboring Uganda, where it is cheaper than in Kenya. His feeds cost Sh2,000 for the same quantity as the layers from the agrovet, which costs Sh2,400 per 50 kg bag, saving him Sh8 per kg, which translates to Sh400 per bag.

According to Waswa, all birds lay a single egg per day, and the difference comes in when they talk about laying in a month. In a good month, he makes about Sh1.8 million, and in a bad month, he makes up to Sh1.5 million. Overall, Joseph Waswa’s poultry farming business is a testament to the fact that with hard work and dedication, success in poultry farming is possible.