Seven innovations to help you earn more

The 120th edition of the Nairobi Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) show held last week was a hotbed of innovations for discerning farmers and agriprenuers.

From animal fodder to macadamia oil and tower garden, a lot was on display.

Away in Uasin Gishu, a similar show, organised by the University of Eldoret took place last week, where a pelleting machine, solar dryer, seed planter and honey extractor were showcased. Seeds of Gold team samples some of the top innovations from the two shows. Here they are:

Pakchong 1 super napier

Mary Njeri, a dairy farmer from Tetu, Nyeri County, exhibited at the Nairobi show the variety of hybrid fodder grass that she says originates from Thailand and is obtained by crossing ordinary napier with pearl millet.

According to her, farmers can evade the high cost of production by embracing the new variety of pasture. The grass she said has a crude protein (CP) content of 18 per cent.

Mary, who embraced the grass last year after buying seedlings from a supplier at Eldoret ASK show, noted it has improved her production.

She grows it on an acre, noting she has cut production cost from Sh880 on feed a day to Sh150.

“I harvest the grass after two-and-half months of planting. I chop or give the cows raw or make hay or silage,” she said.

To grow the grass, a cutting with two nodes is planted in holes spaced a feet-and-a-half apart and two feet between the lines. It should first be treated with HB-101 plant vitaliser.

Macadamia oil

Wish Kenya Ltd, which is based in Thika, extracts oil from the nuts, a venture it started last year.

Philomena Nduku, the sales and marketing assistant, explained that the nuts are dried using an electric machine and cracked.

“But one must first do quality checks on moisture level and the nuts should be free of aflatoxin, pests and diseases,” she said.

Oil is extracted using a compressor, passing a number of stages which include refining and filtering.

 “It has a shelf-life of up to two years,” Nduku stated, noting they sell they product in 100, 250, 500 and 750ml sizes, going for Sh145, Sh450, Sh800 and Sh1, 200 respectively.

Nothing goes to waste, the residues are used as firewood and macadamia cakes is good livestock feed.

Macadamia oil is used in cooking, grilling of meat, baking and making salad.

Semi-permanent tower garden

Wilson Njuguna, the founder of Lavington herbs, displayed a model of gardens that urban dwellers can use to grow a variety of crops like water melons, strawberry, passion fruits, vegetables, onions and tomatoes while saving space, water and easily control pests and diseases.

Made of heavy gauge plastic pipes, the tower is fixed with wire mesh for climbing plants.

The smallest has a height of 4.5 feet, medium 5 feet while the biggest 7 feet high, all with a concrete basement of a square foot.

According to Njuguna, the small tower can accommodate 15 – 18 plants, while the medium 24 and biggest 30.

“The system conserves a lot of water; a litre can be used on a tower for the whole day, instead of 20 litres on plants grown on the ground,” he explained, adding that the planting media used incorporates compost manure, pumice, animal manure and garden soil mixed thoroughly.

Seed pelleting machine

This machine is designed to help farmers achieve uniformity and higher seed germination and growth rates, particularly for farmers growing small seeds such as oats, millet and sorghum. 

The machine is made up of a rotating disc that allows farmers to mix the seeds with growth hormone known as Gibberellic acid. At the back of the equipment is a water tank with a capacity of 20 litres to help in cooling it. There is an inlet and outlet pipes to help regulate temperatures

Moses Muga, the developer of the machine and a masters of agronomy student at the University of Eldoret, said one soaks the seeds overnight (maximum of 12 hours) with Gibberellic acid, a growth hormone (used to boost germination rate). Once done with the process, one puts the pelleted seeds on a table to dry then packages in sachets or stores in a cool place so that the seeds maintain vigour and health.

The coated seeds attain growth rate of 96-100 per cent and germination rate of 97 to 98 per cent. Muga developed the machine after securing funding from National Research Fund and the university.

Passive solar dryer

This machine is designed to help small farmers dry their perishable produce such as sukuma wiki, spinach or omena when in surplus. It dries to moisture content of up to six per cent, says Jacob Koech, a student at the university.

The machine has an opening where cold air blows inside, then a black glass surface taps on solar energy, heating occurs and hot air that is less dense, rises up into the chamber that holds the agriculture produce.

Single-harrow manually operated seed planter

This machine has two hoppers, one for seeds and another for fertiliser. One pushes the machine or applies force, and then the wheel rotates. In the process the shaft picks seeds and drops into the farrow. Similarly, the shaft picks a small amount of fertiliser and drops into the hole. Allan Attee and John Omondi, fifth year mechanical and production engineering students, developed the machine.

Honey extractor

This machine is designed for beekeepers to enable them to harvest and get pure honey.  It has four baskets that hold honey combs, a handle that is manually operated (for turning) and a valve below the tank

Once the honey combs are removed from beehives, they are taken directly to the machine and covered. It uses centrifugal force so that as the machine is in motion, the honey leaves the combs without breaking them. Thus, this enables farmer to return back the combs to the Langstroth hives.

Mobile food cart

The cart is made of recycled materials such as used tyres and metals to ease transportation of farm produce such as hay and potatoes.

It has two wheels and is pulled by a motorcycle or a bicycle. It uses suspension system for stability so that it supports the load and can carry over 150 kilos.

Camillus Kipchirchir, 26, a final year human resource student, said the machine is designed to enable a farmer transport hay on the farm or grocery to the market.