Mary Mathuli, a poultry farmer in Muvau village in Makueni County, is not just an ordinary farmer, but her farming skills have inspired many farmers in the region, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who toured her farm.

Narrating her journey in poultry farming, Mathuli revealed she started small with only ten indigenous chickens, which multiplied to 800 in just two years.

The farmer credits her prowess in farming to a 2014 training by Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust, an NGO promoting climate-smart agriculture.

As the chicken enterprise grew, she took a Sh20,000 loan which further facilitated her expansion to the current 3,000 chickens. She also doubles as a dairy farmer, keeps fish, and grows beans and maize.

To keep production costs low, Mathuli formulates feed for both her two dairy cows and 3,000 chickens at home.

For the birds, she formulates the feed using maize meal, maize jam, wheat bran, sunflower, cotton seed, fish meal, and bone meal.

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The farmer grows Azolla, an aquatic fern rich in protein which she uses as a supplementary feed for the chickens and fish.

She advises farmers to formulate feed using locally available materials like sorghum, sunflower, cowpeas, and maize seeds, as they are affordable.

”The most common mistake chicken farmers make is going for indigenous breeds which take too long to mature. Many also keep just a handful, something that does not make economic sense.’’ She stated.

”They do not vaccinate them against common infections like New Castle, Guboro, and fowl pox,’’ Mathuli added.

The farmer uses her farm to train locals on enhanced agricultural production. She charges Sh1,000 for the training and more for training outside her farm.

Mathuli’s farm attracted wider admiration when she hosted American Philanthropist and world billionaire Bill Gates in 2022, adding to her fortune.

The billionaire lauded her and other Kenyan farmers who have adopted incredible new tools and practices that can limit crop losses and help farms thrive even in extreme weather.

“Our first stop at Mary’s farm was her chicken coop, where she promptly handed me a large hen to hold…I was impressed by her entrepreneurial spirit and her optimism. She appeared to seize every opportunity to try out new technologies and agricultural practices,” Gates stated.

Gates further lauded Mathuli for providing guidance to several hundred farmers in the community by showing them how to use drought-tolerant seeds and raise chickens, as well as the use of weather app to guide them in farming.