November 19, 2022

Young farmer sets up agro dealership shop to tackle farmers’ access to input challenges

Soy and Oil Seeds

Kenya

Not long ago, smallholder farmers in Anjego, Migori County, Kenya had no option but to travel up to 10 kilometres, to get inputs for their farming activities. The farmers had to set aside almost 2 hours in their day and spend up to Ksh. 200 ($1.7) to access an agro dealership- an amount that could be spent on purchasing additional input. Victor Afanda, 25, a young entrepreneur and farmer saw an opportunity in this situation and took the initiative to turn things around for his community.

2SCALE recognizes that the youth are key change agents toward attaining sustainable agriculture in rural Kenya. Accordingly, the 2SCALE-Prosoya partnership launched a project in 2021 to create employment for youth in Migori as last-mile input distributors. The partnership’s Business Support Service (BSS) provider, Forum for Action on Sustainable Development (FASUD), trained the youth in sales and marketing, efficient use of inputs, soil sampling and testing and conservation agriculture. Among them was Victor Afanda, who took the initiative a step further and established an agro-vet shop in his area, Anjego.

Victor started farming when he was just 20 years old and in high school. He practises soybean, maize, bean and poultry farming. As a farmer, he also felt the burden and loss of having to travel long distances to access inputs. When FASUD presented the opportunity to create a solution, he immediately took it.

When he started the business three years ago, Victor would get input supplies from FASUD, sell them to farmers door to door and get a commission. Now, he has opened up a physical sales shop in Anjego centre to serve farmers in Achuth, Bware, Anjego and Edemba areas in Migori. He sells soybean seeds, fertilizers, tarpaulins and herbicides.

His shop also serves as an aggregation centre for maize and soybean grains, collecting from 50 smallholder farmers in the region. To support this, the partnership provided a moisture meter to ensure that the grains' moisture levels are safe for storage and a digital weighing scale for accuracy. This was facilitated to ensure that there were no post-harvest losses experienced with the grains.

Giving back to his community

Tapping into this opportunity has allowed him to take up a bigger role in supporting his family and transforming their lives. He explains,

When I used to rely on farming alone, I used to earn around Ksh. 5000 ($ 42) per month. Currently, I earn an average of Ksh. 10,000 ($ 83) per month from sales at the shop. I purchased a motorbike to make deliveries to farmers who cannot come to the shop. On top of increasing my sales, it also allows me to serve farmers in other villages. I can now comfortably cater for my family’s household needs and pay school fees for my children. I also support two of my two younger brothers by catering for their school fees.

Farmers appreciate the knowledge and guidance he shares with them regarding the correct use of inputs and the ease of access he facilitates. This has led to an increase in soybean production in his area. Through 2SCALE support, FASUD can offtake large quantities from the farmers at a good price, creating a ready market. According to Victor, he has seen over 20 farmers switch to soybean farming since he started his business. In his case, he has increased his soybean production from farming a quarter of an acre to one acre.

An additional service Victor has incorporated into his business is spray service provision. Through this service, he is able to create employment opportunities for the youth in his region. He elaborates:

2SCALE organized a capacity-building exercise on spray service provision and through that, I was able to acquire the knowledge and skill. I also have two youths that I commission to provide spray services to farmers during the peak of the spraying season. They took part in the training as well, and therefore work efficiently. I charge farmers Ksh. 500 ($ 4) per acre and pay the service providers Ksh. 300 ($ 2.5). During the high season, we can get up to Ksh. 15,000 ($ 125).

Currently, Victor has rented a shop and envisions acquiring a plot of land and building his own shop.

Capacity building has proven powerful in empowering young people because it creates opportunities that would have otherwise remained untapped along agricultural value chains. Ultimately it also elevates other players in these value chains by addressing the gaps that exist.

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