Young Entrepreneur Rethinks Future, Pursues Rural Agribusiness
This article in brief: Young people in Kenya struggle to find sustainable ways to make a living. Those unable to find well-paying jobs in the city are taking what they…
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In Kenya, dairy farmers face a variety of challenges every day, such as milk going bad, delays in milk delivery and inefficient transportation. Edward Masinde, managing director of the milk aggregation and marketing company Clare Fortune, knows firsthand how this can affect income potential and limit farmers’ livelihoods.
Shared Frustrations Among Farmers
Masinde’s company always longed to expand its reach and source its milk from a wider range of smallholder dairy farmers. However, a lack of effective and affordable cooling equipment for their product regularly held them back.
Photo by Savanna Circuit Technologies
Working Together to Expand Business
In early 2020, Feed the Future facilitated a new partnership between Clare Fortune and Savanna Circuit Technologies Ltd., a Kenya-based manufacturing and last-mile distribution company that works with farmers directly rather than through a distributor or agent.
The app has greatly improved transparency – the milk delivery by the farmer is captured in the platform and they receive an electronic receipt via SMS once their milk is collected. Before the app, transporters could sell some of the milk on the side before delivering it to the main processing plant. This caused farmers to lose revenue as they would be paid for a smaller quantity than what was collected. Now, farmers can easily track their product from the farms to the cooperatives, as well as their revenues.
Through the new business connection facilitated by Feed the Future, Clare Fortune purchased an 800-liter pre-chiller, increasing its milk collection capacity while reducing the cost of milk aggregation. Thanks to this new technology, Clare Fortune has reduced its milk loss from 15 percent to below five percent and increased its milk handling capacity. With the enhanced ability to buy from more farmers, the company plans to increase its number of suppliers from 100 to 600 farmers. Milk-chilling technology also benefits farmers directly, allowing them to maintain a more consistent revenue stream.
“With this chilling machine, I have the confidence that my milk will reach the market without being spoiled,” said Richard Gwaro, a farmer in Bungoma County. “It gives me the motivation to produce more milk and supply to the company.”
Clare Fortune is exploring expanding its business in the future by investing in pasteurization and purchasing a second pre-chiller as its number of suppliers increase. The company’s goal is to increase daily milk intake and sales to over 10,000 liters per day.
The Feed the Future Kenya Crops & Dairy Market Systems Activity (KCDMS), implemented by RTI International, is a five-year USAID-funded effort that helps increase agricultural production and reduce poverty and malnutrition in Kenya, helping to spur a competitive, inclusive and resilient agricultural market system.
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