Lamech Kabuti was in his early twenties when he took the plunge into the world of business. His decision to go into business was not only bold, but brave. In fact, it would be correct to call it daring.
You see, Lamech went into business during the difficult 2020 pandemic season when businesses across the country were reporting losses and others shutting down altogether.
But it was not the usual copy and paste business that would be expected from a young man in his early twenties that Lamech started. “I wanted to become an agripreneur. I wanted to innovate and to manufacture. I wanted to bring tangible value addition,” he says.
He launched his own company, SeedPro Africa Limited, and started offering farming products.
In less than five years since he started this company, Lamech has evolved to become a specialist in agricultural value addition. His agribusiness venture specializes in the manufacturing and formulating non-acidifying fertilizers.
“I had observed how costly farming products such as fertilizers and pesticides had become during the pandemic season,” he says. “Production dipped because most people could not afford to buy farm products on half salaries, reduced business income or even total loss of jobs.”
This dip in production and the helplessness of farmers stirred the urge in Lamech to manufacture more pocket friend fertilizers.
This urge turned into a business that has not only broken even, but that has become a cornerstone in profitable farming for a huge number of farmers.
“All our products are inspected and certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards,” he says. “The fertilizers can be acquired from all major agrovet shops and agro dealers countrywide.”
Lamech explains that his products help crops to utilize nutrients for a longer period of time before they mature.
“Our fertilizers are based on the slow-release technology. They do not leach into the soil easily,” he says.
One of his fertilizers is the DAP plus. This fertilizer is composed of an array of soil conditioning additives and liming agents which work to improve the soil and prevent soil degradation from synthetic fertilizers.
This fertilizer has come in handy for a majority of farmers with farms that have no adequate nutrients in their soils.
“The majority of Kenya farms have soils that that do not have sufficient calcium. The fertilizers we have manufactured have come in to cure this deficiency and increase farm productivity without injuring soil quality,” says Lamech.
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He explains that the production of his fertilizers involves compounding of nutrients and granulating. “We use wet and dry surface granulation. The machines are our invention and we have mustered them to produce high quality granules,” he says. In addition to the soil fertilizers, Lamech’s company also manufactures fertilizers that are absorbed by plants through leaves.
“We make foliars using nano technology. This comes in handy especially when there is scarcity of rain and low water for irrigation,” says Lamech.
His new technology comes at a time when farmers need new and advanced technologies in fostering higher food production to feed the Kenya’s bulging population.
Apart from running a successful agribusiness venture, Lamech has gone a step further and is now offering work opportunities to his fellow youth. In March 2024, he launched an internship program for fresh graduates
“In the month of March, we offered 35 internship opportunities to fresh graduates in our first cohort,” he says. Lamech says that through his business, he is working towards creating 150 job opportunities for the youth and women across the country.
“My experience in this business has shown me that there are so many opportunities in this field and we are going to open them up for other youths and women,” he says. “Kenya is largely an agricultural-based economy and as players in this field, we really believe that the future and growth of this country is in the agricultural sector.”
For a successful young entrepreneur as he is, Bizna Kenya wanted to know the kind of business legacy Lamech wants to write for himself.
“I would like it to be remembered as an agripreneur who helped Kenyan farmers boost their harvests by manufacturing and offering fertilizers with value for money and authentic, verifiable ability to increase output while protecting farm soils,” he says with a smile.