Home feed mix key in cutting down costs for livestock production

The Lecture theatre is fully parked at the Livestock ServicesCo-operative Society in the Lusaka Agriculture and Commercial Show grounds, as a youthful Mulele Nakweti an animal nutritionist runs through the theoretical part of home feed mixing.

Participants, some retirees old enough to be his father have their eyes and ears locked on the 26 year old graduate from the University of Zambia because the direction of their next phase in life, livestock farming entirely relies on him amidst the high cost of feed.

Mulele during a lecture

This is but one of the many seminars mostly free offered at the Society’s Technical Centre designed to help farmers reduce their operation costs while increasing their profits.

Today’s (Saturday May, 20, 2017) focus is general livestock feed production a run through the major requirements of feed.

Mulele tells me in an interview after the seminar that the emphasis is thorough mixing of feed which is one thing that farmers fail to archive. He says the core of the seminar is how one can achieve feed production using available simple tools and raw materials to improve their animals’ nutrition while cutting down on costs.

“Mainly we look at the costs, it is much cheaper to make your own feed than buying. We’re talking about 30percent savings which is a lot of money over a long period of time,” says the soft spoken Mulele.

 

Rise in interests for feed production

Mulele says the over two years that the seminars have been running have seen a rise in interest on feed production as many people venture into the fast money poultry production but turn to producing their own feed in a bid to improve their profits while keeping costs low.

He says the centre offers feed production seminars for all types of livestock from poultry, goats, sheep, and cattle both for calf and dairy production.

“We’ve introduced a third new course on beef production and everyone interested should come and attend,” notes the soft spoken Mulele.

On fears by some people that the seminars cost a lot, Mulele quickly chips in emphasizing that all seminars offered at the Centre are free except for home feed mixing and meat processing which takes place at Day Break Farm owing to purchases of raw materials used for practical lessons.

 

Practical lessons

After nearly three hours of intense theory, Mulele moves his students to the lab where Philip Phiri the elderly technician in charge of the lab awaits to run through the hands on job of feed mixing. On his table are key ingredients such as fish feed, soya meal and maize meal (number three meal) alongside a digital scale and measuring bucket.

Mr. Phiri reiterates Mulele’s sentiments that home feed mixing is cheap as all raw materials required like soya beans, sunflower and maize are now available locally following an increase in the number of farmers growing them.

“I was computing per 50kg bag formulae for broiler grower and found that farmers would spend K152.15 on ingredients while buying already made feed for the same would cost them K228.98 meaning that they could be saving around K76.83,” notes Mr. Phiri.

Mr. Philip Phiri during a session with participants

 

The seminar on feed mixing provides a general guidance on use of available ingredients which should contain the exact nutritional elements and requirements but farmers can be able to produce feed for whatever livestock they are involved in rearing.

“When feed is mixed it has to meet all the necessary nutritional requirements meaning we need to have carbohydrates which become energy, we need proteins which we get from amino acids for the birds to grow and we need minerals like dicalcium phosphate for strengthening of the bones so that they are strong enough to walk around and get food and water,” he notes.

Some of the participants following the practicals

 

Mr. Phiri delves into a secret behind feed production to keep costs low such as grinding bubble fish or Kapenta which is small type of fish in Zambia in place of fish meal which may turn out to be costly. The number three maize meal can actually be found with millers in the townships while dicalcium phosphate is a by-product of cement just as soya cake is a by-product of soya beans after extraction of cooking oil. Soya cake is readily available as many people have set up cooking oil extracting machines in many townships.

The lime added is among the cheapest ingredients costing a paltry K10 per 50kg bag.

 

Motivation for participants

“I’ve been inspired to attend this course because I’ve just retired from employment and I want to migrate to the village. I’m setting base in my village in Chadiza for my next phase of life to take up farming of all types. This seminar will help me a lot especially that I noticed there was a lot of bias toward poultry production although these are general principles of feed production.” Raphael Phiri - Retiree

“I thought of doing something different, venturing into something new that’s why I came to attend this seminar so that I can learn how to mix feed on my own. I have learnt that there are so many advantages of home feed mixing because you save a lot in terms of profits. I’m now just trying to mobilize finances then will venture into poultry farming.”  Getrude Mwanza--Fridge Repairer

Upcoming seminars

Upcoming seminars for this quarter are as tabulated below:

MAY

DATE	COURSE	TIME
Wednesday 24th May, 2017	Sheep and Goat Production (Mr. Daka) -Free	08:00 to 12:00
Saturday 27th May, 2017	Pig Production (Dr. Chijikwa)- Free	08:00 to 12:00
Saturday 27th May, 2017	Meat Processing (Mr. Nchito 0977 782636) K75 Venue: Day Break Farm, Kafue Road	08:00 to 16:00
Wednesday 31st, May, 2017	Principles of Home Feed mixing (Mr. Phiri/Mulele)K50 Venue: Livestock Services Lecture room	08:00 to 12:00

 

JUNE

DATE	COURSE	TIME
Saturday 3rd June, 2017	Dairy reproduction and management, (Dr. Mutemwa) free	08:00 to 12:00
Wednesday 7th June, 2017	Fish Farming-Aquaculture (Frank Mukuka), free	08:00 to 12:00
Saturday 10th June, 2017	Crop Production (Omega), free	08:00 to 12:00
Tuesday 13th June, 2017	Beef Production, free	08:00 to 12:00
Wednesday 14th June, 2017	Pig Production, (Dr. Chijikwa), free	08:00 to 12:00
Saturday 17th June, 2017	Sheep and Goat Production (Mr. Daka) -Free	08:00 to 12:00
Wednesday 21st June, 2017	Egg Production (Dr. Zyambo), free	08:00 to 12:00
Saturday 24th June, 2017	Quail Production, (Mulele), Free	08:00 to 12:00
Saturday 24th June, 2017	Meat Processing (Mr. Nchito 0977 782636) K75 Venue: Day Break Farm, Kafue Road	08:00 to 16:00

 



Maria Zaloumis the “tomato Queen” reaps big from the Red GOLD

She stands amongst erect tomato plants taller than her, holding four fruits in her left hand and spotting a huge smile, happy with the success of her produce.

Her name is Maria Zaloumis a 32 year old trained nurse and cardiologist who recently abandoned her medical career to become a “Tomato Queen” exercising her passion for entrepreneurship through farming.

Maria’s entry into farming was after completion of her education in Australia returning to the family farm that only had a half hectare of tomatoes and an ailing father unable to manage it. Armed with a few savings from her school days and her parents’ 40 hectare land Maria set out on the agric path with only one goal; to succeed.

She has managed to expand the operation from half a hectare of tomatoes to 13 hectares from which she harvests between 250 and 400 boxes everyday giving her approximately daily revenue of K12, 500 at the lowest price of K50 per box.

“I am the type of woman who loves challenges. I needed a change in my life because I have an entrepreneurial mind as being in medicine and nursing you always work for someone so I wanted to work for myself,” she says in response to a question on what inspired her to give up a prestigious job for farming.

Maria says her start was on expanding the half hectare of tomatoes by planting 13,000 plants with huge returns being re-invested in the business for further expansion.  For young people wishing to get in to farming, her advice is for them to raise capital through savings and downscale their lives.

“Young people with 9 to 5 jobs should save up some money to raise capital and also adjust their lives I had to did with my life through cutting down a lot of things. I am not on a salary from the time I started as I put back all the monies I make for expansion so I have not benefited much from this venture so that I secure a better future,” she says adding  that “building a business empire takes time so I have given myself two years to be on a salary. The first two to five years depending on how big you want to grow you won’t get a salary because you getting the money meant to expand to look after yourself, so it’s either you grow yourself or grow your business.”

Current operations

The 40 ha farm is slowly becoming small for her vision hence she is looking at a second farm to expand operations. Currently Maria has dedicated 13 ha for tomatoes, 8 ha for maize meant for her cows, some grazing pasture and about 20 beds for rape meant to service bills for chemicals which she gets from some company.

Her venture has since created 32 jobs, 25 full time, two taking care of her cattle and four guards of which two take up the night shifts and two day shifts.

“I take good care of my workers especially my women because they mean a lot to me and I give make them to run the farm once a week,” she notes.

 

Lessons learnt

“I have learnt a lot from farming the short period I have been in it. Tomato prices got depressed in January and they were like that for about three months during which we went through a hard time until recently when they started picking up,” narrates Maria.

Among key lessons Maria says she has learnt about farming is financial discipline. She says tomato farming especially requires high level of financial discipline because all anticipated fortunes from the crop can be overturned over night by diseases like Tuta absoluta which recently raked havoc among many farmers.

Maria adds that she has also learnt to be focused and consistent because the two are key weapons in one’s success as doing the same thing every day makes one become better at it.

“When you do something as a young person, do it very well, you may not be recognized by your bosses but other people and eventually doors open. So put your heart into it through being focused and consistent,” she says.

Land availability

With the latest trends indicating that many young people are developing interest to venture into agriculture, land acquisition remains a major challenge because of the complexities and high costs involved. Land remains a key factor of production in agriculture and its proximity to town makes it more expensive. Thus Maria observes that “the deeper you go, the cheaper land gets” a statement which makes that land in the outskirts of town which people are avoiding is cheap.

True to the Tomato Queen’s words many Zambians want land that is close to town which is however very expensive and beyond the affordability of an average young Zambian, worse still youths wishing to try their luck at a sector set to create the next generation of self made millionaires.

Maria advices government to develop a scheme for young people wishing to venture into agriculture which will provide them with incentives that will see them easily access land.  In addition Maria is appealing to government to consider developing ways of funding young people involved in the sector through loans or grants subject to serious scrutiny of their credit background.

Five year projection

“It is positive at the moment and a lot of people are getting into farming as seen on social media. I see Zambia feeding itself in five years time,” observes Maria.

However Maria is quick to emphasize the need for crop diversification among new entrants in the sector.

“Just because I grow tomatoes and it is lucrative for me does not mean that everyone getting in agriculture should grow tomatoes. Young people should look at other fields of agriculture such as production of fruits which is not common in Zambia,” she says.

In wrapping up our interview the tomato queen says farming is not an easy thing but with focus and consistency it is doable for young people. She says the best time to venture into farming is now for young people because of the high energy.

Her final words are; “You don’t need a lot of money to start farming, even just 5,000 plants on a small field and then you start expanding with time.”

 

Young doctor abandons prestigious medical career for farming

“Farming Zambia out of poverty,” is her motto.

While many young people admire the prestigious job of being a medical doctor, 27-year-old Tamara Kaunda has opted to hang her stethoscope for the oldest occupations of mankind-farming.

“I came to realise that the root cause of so many patients in UTH was due to poverty. It is not like people were getting sick, but the sickness mostly was caused by poverty and I said how can I help the nation,” says Tamara.

The young Dr. Kaunda, granddaughter of Zambia’s founding President Dr. Kenneth Kaunda (Her father and Dr. Kaunda are brothers) decided to abandon her medical profession in 2015 to venture into farming full time. Tamara turned to her memories as a child growing up on a farm in Chinsali District of Muchinga Province where her education was financed by proceeds from her family’s farm.

First step into farming

Tamara was seeking to encourage young people to venture into farming as a business while she was still in employment, but thought words alone while she maintained her lucrative job would not work as young people prefer practical examples. And that was her turning point marking the decision to take the lead through action.

“When I tell young people, that hey,guys I am a medical doctor, which is a high paying job, but I am in agriculture, they get encouraged because they say there must be something in agriculture that made her abandoned her well paying job,” says Tamara.

Tamara’s start in the sector considered home to the new GOLD was not easy.She had no experience or resources to go commercial save for her childhood experience on her parents’ farm. Determined to earn a spot in the agriculture sector, Tamara acquired some skills in agriculture through some trainings. With no money but armed with a fraction of new skills, Tamara bought second had seedlings trays and nets and that marked the beginning her farming business which has since grown into 879 seedling trays offering seeds of different crops and offering training under Billionaire Farmer Agric Solutions. 

Her motivation is for youths to push hard for their dreams. 

“Ideas matter more than money. When you have an idea and want to make it work you can start with anything, you can do it, but you must have patience to grow because success doesn’t happen overnight, you must be persistent, you must work your dream, “advises Tamara.

Financial discipline 

Most young people turn to fast cars, being slaying Kings and Queens with little resources that come their way,but Tamara thinks financial discipline must be tops. 

Tamara says her business, which she runs with her fiancée and partner Chiluba Kunda, also medical doctor who abandoned his profession for farming, has grown due to strict financial discipline.

“Whatever we realise from sales we put back in the business to expand it.”

Asked how much she makes every month, Tamara was reluctant to mention saying young people would get excited without realising how much work goes in. But we still pushed further not taking NO for an answer and a whooping K170,000 came out as the monthly  revenue from which she pays her 14 employees, other expenses and expansion of the business which takes up a larger chunk on the 24 hectare land. 

On government incentives

Questioned if government is offering any support and to young people in agriculture, and the answer is a bold NO.

 “No. there should be a deliberate move to finance youths in agriculture. If there was we would have had 10 to 20 green houses if we had finances needed. Government is so reluctant to finance youths in agriculture and young farmers are not even here,” she laments citing Kenya as one country were young people are thriving through government’s support.

She adds that Banks are reluctant to give young people loans because they don’t trust them and they don’t believe the sector has money yet it is key in poverty alleviation and job creation.

The challenge

Tamara challenges young people not to be limited by their professions and come out of the perception that wearing a suit and tie and speaking good English is a sign of success and wealth.

 “Instead of going to other people’s offices to look for jobs, we need to change the face of Zambia and employ others ourselves,” she says adding that: “We must take this chance to get into agriculture and produce for our country and the region as part of contributing to economic development.” 

Asked on her vision in the next five years, Tamara says she targets the export market and ends with her motto;

“The next five years will have a lot of money and working toward being featured on Forbes. We are also looking at bringing more young people in the sector. Poverty will be history and I’m super excited of getting rid of poverty,” she says ending with her motto “We’re looking at farming Zambia out of poverty.”

Her partner and fiancée 

Tamara’s business partner and fiancée is Chiluba Kunda a young medical doctor and last born son of Zambia’s late Former Vice President George Kunda. He says his motivation to venture into the sector most people perceive a preserve of retirees. 

Chiluba says young people need to make bold decisions about what they want and not succumb to pressures of society on what direction they need to take.

By Brian Mwale