My name is eliud kithinji marangu. I was born on 23rd march 1990 in a family of five. I started my primary education when I was 6 years at kithamburu primary School where i completed my primary education in 2006.i joined kaaga high school for secondary education and completed my Kenya Secondary Certificate Education in 2010.
As a young person from a poor background, the main hardship i have encountered after completing high school is raising of capital to venture into agribusiness since after completion of my secondary education, my parents were not able to finance my education to university despite the fact that I had performed well in my secondary school examinations . I could not sleep and hope for things to work out by themselves neither could I be hopeless and complain about everything I was going through since I knew that moment would define the direction my life would take, i.e, be better or worse.I started a chicken rearing project but due to its high high cost of maintenance and I had financial constraints, it was not successful because I had insufficient capital to invest in the project. I was introduced to corn farming by a close friend and for sure this is one of the best things that I have ever been introduced to since then . After doing my research about corn farming, ifound out that corn business was a good area to venture in bearing in mind that the climate was favorable. I needed some seed capital outlay to cater for the involved costs including buying hybrid seeds, fertilizer and chemicals.
I felt that I needed to adopt and implement the idea of corn farming since i needed money to support my self, look after my younger siblings since my parents are unable to do so because they don't have a source of income but are peasants and at times getting daily bread for the family happened to be a great challenge. Apart from other basic needs, my siblings also needed school fess which would be readily acquired if i had an income generating project/Activity .
I therefore decided to sell the chicken to get some capital needed to start my corn business. Through the previous loans, I have been able to expand my corn business through purchase of hybrid seeds and fertilizer and foliar and expand the production .The business has developed into a very promising and a reliable agribusiness venture which i intend to expand more and more after acquiring the next loan by increasing the production and ensure that 100% of the farm is under use and that I get the maximum output and returns possible from my corn business. Corn farming also thrives at my home area which is an advantage to my business.
I would like my siblings and children to get quality education and have all the resources to see them succeed in life and at no particular time be faced by the challenge I went through at my young age. Also, I would like to assist and support needy children in my area to enable them get a good education which may help the develop entrepreneurial skills as well as get good jobs and get them out of the chains of poverty. I would also like to mentor the young people especially the youths in my area to venture into agribusiness since it has numerous gains.
I like reading books on business including agribusiness,business and entrepreneurship articles in my leisure time.I also engage in farming trainings at Kenya research institute which is a few meters from my home and they offer the training free of charge. The skills I have acquired from these forums has also helped me in my personal life and farming.
At the beginning of last year, I decided to commercialize the corn faming business so as to generate sustenance and savings for my education and I can say the project is doing well. I was also given an extra piece of land by my grand father which was a huge boost to my business. I channeled resources I had to piping water to the land to facilitate proper irrigation as well as preparation of the land to be ready for planting. Over time, I have been able to increase the output from the faming which has led to increased demand for corn from my farm. Actually, clients are knocking everyday in search of the crop from my farm and at times I fail to match the demand since in my area, there are few people who have ventured into corn farming whereas the demand for the same is very very high. In the last season for instance, I spent around 10000 ksh on fertilizer and manure which is bound to increase as a result of increased production and input and also due to the extra piece of land I was given by my grad father. This coming season, I intend to hire an extra 1/4 acre farm from my neighbor to ensure that I increase the corn production since the market so far is ready and promising and the demand for corn is always high. By doing so, I would generate over 100% revenue from the invested inputs in the form of profits every season from sales of dry corn and fodder for animals. This would translate to over Ksh. 70000 in the form of profit
Since I Joined University in the month of September on part time basis where I am taking a Bachelor degree in Commerce, I am fully rely on the income generated from the corn farming to finance my education .The course will take three years. Also, the income generated from the corn and fodder sales will be used to cater for the education needs of my siblings and also support my elderly parents and provision of basic needs.
I plan to use the loan applied for as follows.
210 USD - This will be used to purchase Hybrid seeds for planting which will be sufficient to plant for the whole piece of the land including the 1/4 acre which I will be hiring in my neighborhood. Increased capital and additional piece of land means that I will have increased output this season hence enable me to enjoy the benefits of economies of scale.
170USD - Will be used to purchase fertilizer to be applied during planting, three weeks after planting and also for topdressing which is done 6 weeks after planting.
80USD - Will be used to purchase Foliar Which will be sprayed to the crop exactly 6 months after planting. This is done when topdressing and helps in improving/ to increase the quality and quantity of the corn.
20 USD - This will be used to buy pesticides and insecticides to spray to the crops in order to prevent the corn from common pests and insects which would affect quality and quantity of the corn if not sprayed against.
65USD - This will be used to hire the extra 1/4 acre of land from my neighbor which is the cost we have agreed per season. This is fair enough and am 100% sure that it will at the end of the season after harvesting, I will recover the money and get a good and appealing profit from the extra land. Hiring of the extra piece of land has been necessitated by the need to try and maximize the profit from the farming to enable me fund my education through the farming.