A journey to Self-employment for a Young Graduate

/0 Comments/in /by

Today, Kenya’s youth unemployment rate stands at 65 percent, among the highest in the world. Three in five unemployed Kenyans are 15 – 35 years old. The situation is exacerbated by a shrinking economy, political instability, and pervasive income inequality. 

Fortunately, FIPS-Africa in collaboration with Mission Grow Project is helping bridge this gap by working with 25,744 youths and 99 youth groups in western, eastern and coast regions of Kenya, supporting them in agricultural enterprises mainly fodder, vegetables and poultry. 

Meet Melque Ligulu, a youth engaging in fodder business. He’s from Kakamega County in western Kenya. Melque started growing fodder in 2018 when he was still in college.  Read more

How FIPS-Africa’s Village-based Advisors are helping farmers to improve incomes from their indigenous chickens by reducing chick mortality

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

The number one cause of death of young chicks in Makueni County is predation by the dreaded eagle. Farmers may lose up to 100% of their young chicks to birds of prey in the first three weeks of their lives because they allow them to stray far from the house. Considering that a mature chicken can be sold for KES 500 or more, the eagle is responsible for the theft of millions of Shillings per year.

FIPS-Africa’s Village-based Advisors (VBAs) in Makueni County in Eastern Kenya have been advising farmers to prevent thief of young chicks by eagles by stopping them from straying from the homestead, and also by painting young chicks with GV (Gentian Violet). This Mother hen has had her chicks dyed with GV and has been tethered by a piece of string to prevent her from straying to danger areas. She hatched 8 chicks and all 8 chicks have survived! Read more

How FIPS-Africa’s Village-based Dairy Advisors (VBDAs) are helping small-holder farmers in Western Kenya to increase their milk production

/0 Comments/in , , , /by
FIPS-Africa, with the support of ILRI and The Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development program, is adapting its Approach to help small-holder farmers increase the productivity of their dairy cows. For a success story, see:

Read more

Phosphorus seed dressing also increases yields of beans grown by small-holder farmers in Kenya

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

The common bean is the most important leguminous food crop grown in East Africa. It is grown by most small-holder farmers in Machakos and Makueni Counties in Kenya.  Beans is generally intercropped with maize and does not receive fertilizer or manure. However, as soils have become depleted of their natural fertility, grain yields have declined. As most soils are deficient in Phosphorus (P), FIPS-Africa has been encouraging farmers to experiment with dressing of their bean seeds with P. Read more

Can the traditional “Kavila Cha Iviu” sorghum variety make a comeback in Makueni County?

/0 Comments/in , /by

The “Kavila Cha Iviu” sorghum variety used to be grown by most small-holder farmers in Makueni County in Kenya. It is drought-tolerant and is fairly resistant to attack by birds. Following a series of crop failure in consecutive seasons due to drought, many farmers lost their seeds, and switched to planting maize when it was distributed as relief food. Read more