Today, Bizna Kenya had an entrepreneurial interview with Simon Wachieni, the founder & director of Nutri-Fresh Farm & AgriHub.
Simon shares his entrepreneurial story with Bizna Kenya readers in hope that it may motivate and encourage someone out there.
Before starting the social enterprise in 2014 (Nutri-Fresh Farm & AgriHub), he had worked for over 12 years in different Non-government Organisations in Kenya, playing different roles in program, operations and finance management, as well as community development and research. He has training in business management, project management, and community development. “My biggest interests are initiatives that create impacts on communities at bottom of the pyramid, mainly the smallholder farming communities that constitute the majority of Kenyan population” he says.
So what is Nutri-Fresh Farm & AgriHub all about?
I founded Nutri-Fresh Farm & AgriHub in 2014 to fill the huge gap that exists between agricultural technology research and smallholder farmers, majority of who still practice low technology and highly unsustainable rain-fed farming. We use practical and localized approaches to address the lack of access to applicable and more efficient farming technologies and skills among smallholder farmers. One major challenge that we seek to address is the farmer’s high reliance on rain-fed agriculture, which has been made unsustainable by the worsening effects of climate change. The erratic rainfall patterns, combined with longer and warmer dry periods have adversely affected rain-fed practice and millions of farmers across Kenya are in need of applicable solutions that would enable them shift towards irrigation farming.
To address this challenge, Nutri-Fresh Farm & AgriHub has developed a water harvesting solution, which involves installation of water harvesting ponds for households. The ponds make it possible for farmers to collect large water volumes from the roofs or from ground run-off during the rainy season, then reserving it for domestic use or for irrigating farms during dry period. We use a special fabric to line the base and the sides of the ponds to ensure that water is not lost through ground seepage. In addition to the ponds, we install water-efficient drip irrigation kits and also provide agronomic support to farmers, such that they get the complete support required to get into profitable farming.
- What made you start this kind of business venture?
In the course of doing community work over the years, I came to appreciate the great potential bestowed upon African continent and its people. At the same time, I was saddened by the mismatch between the well-known African agricultural potential and the current state of affairs where the continent imports about 80% of its domestic products yet it needs the same. The rain-fed and subsistence nature of African farming has come under serious strain due to effects of climate change, necessitating a quick shift from the model.
Having grown up and worked in Kenyan rural setting where the majority of the population depends on rain-fed agriculture, I have witnessed the ever-increasing effects of climate change on community livelihoods. These worsening effects are rendering the rain-fed smallholder method of farming highly unsustainable, as farmers face increasing frequencies and intensities of droughts. It is due to these experiences that pushed me to come up with a start-up that could create impact through a localized, replicable and sustainable smallholder farming model.
- How different is your company from other companies providing water solutions to farmers in Kenya?
While there are other companies providing water solutions for farmers in Kenya, we differentiate ourselves by focusing on the entire water and agronomic needs of smallholder farmers, who are left out by many of the well-established companies. Despite the huge potential in availing water for farmers through water harvesting, there has been little effort in developing affordable and replicable models that tap into this. We have developed a plastic-lined water pond that helps in the collection, filtration and storage of large water volumes from ground run-off. The special lining prevents water loss through ground seepage (which contributes to over 90% of water loss in earthen ponds/ dams).
A majority of smallholder farmers lack the expertise and access to special materials and equipment needed to construct these water ponds by themselves and this made us think of a business approach where we provide the complete solution. By providing complete installations, we incorporate the aspects of water collection, silt & erosion reduction and advice on where best in the farm to locate the ponds. We increase the durability of the ponds through the use of concrete slabs, and also install silt filtration chambers. We combine water harvesting with other components i.e. water pumping, irrigation setups and agronomic support.
- What have been some of your failures, and what have you learnt from them?
We have had many failures as a start-up. Our main one has been on getting the right pricing model that suits the unique needs and circumstances of our target market (smallholder farmers), while factoring in aspects such as accessibility/distance to the farms and availability of raw materials and labor at the local level. We have made installation deals which ended up at a complete loss. We are still learning how best to differentiate pricing of our installations while remaining attractive to clients.
- What piece of advice would you give to anyone interested in venturing into a similar business as yours?
Running a business that addresses the needs of population can be very fulfilling but as with all other businesses, one has to be very patient and resilient, since there are many challenges along the way. While it is very easy to read stories in the media of entrepreneurs who came from rags to riches, it is important for those starting up new businesses to seek to learn from the untold stories of failures. The success stories are good for the motivation but the failure ones are good for the learning. They are very important in an entrepreneur’s journey.