I am Antonina Gachiani. I was born in Mwea Township, kirinyaga County, Kenya. I took my primary school education and high school in the same county. I then did my college studies in Agri-Business at Egerton University, Nairobi Campus. I finished my course then started farming on the little land I was allotted by my dad. I raised my first capital from an informal job I had done immediately after college. Agriculture is an important part of the Kenyan Economy and culture. Every community practices some form of agriculture. Domestic agriculture is the major source of food in the country. While I love the general practice of agriculture, I also have passion in business management and this is good for my area of practice.

In Mwea kirinyaga County, Rice farming is a major economic activity. I plant Rice for sale on one acre piece of land. Its an incredible occupation both in business and food supply. Food is always on demand and I also have a passion for agriculture, coming from a culture that values hard work and production. I harvest averagely 24 gunny bags of Rice per acre, each of which I sell between Ksh.5000 (USD.50) and Ksh.7000 (USD.70). I spend Ksh.25,000 (USD.250) per acre from planting to harvesting. The acre makes approximately Ksh.95,000 (USD.950) to Ksh. 143000 (USD 1430) NB: This is the total that i get after 5 months (This is how long the rice takes to grow ).In future i intend to rent around 5acres piece hence increase my returns. I save some of the profits I make, some spend on my children's fees and other investments.

Since i started the shop I have received a requests from supermarkets around my area to supply them with samples for my product.

If my loan is funded this is what i intend to do

1. Brand my packaging so that it can stand out on supermarkets shops

2. Buy alot of stock and be ready for new wholesale markets

3. Do Marketing for my Rice to other areas.. eg Catering business, Schools ,Hotels , Cereals Shops etc

Currently I get my rice from farmers in Mwea(Kirinyaga County) at USD1.10 per kg and sale at USD1.50 per kg . on average i sell around 50 kgs a day so i make a profit of USD 20 per day. With Marketing and Branding my packaging I am certain that I will increase my daily profit to USD 50 per day as supermarkets buy in bulk .

Hope you will be kind enough to fund my loan as it will really help me

Thanks in advance