Nairobi International Trade Fair
Introduction
The Nairobi international Trade Fair provides exposure to young and eager entreprenuers as well as farmers on major innovations and improved farming. Its held once every year at Jamhuri Grounds during the month of September.The Stands visited were mainly for crops and animals.
Plant stands include;
-Greenhouse
-Herbs
-Polythene filled with soil media
-Landscaping with polythene bags
-Improved veg+poultry+fish farming
-Arrowroots in polythene
-strawberries
-Lettuce
-Oats
-Dairy fodder
-Barley
Livestock stands include;
-Bees
-Poultry
-Fish Farming
-Rabbit Farming
-Dairy Farming
-Companies supplying farm products
Greenhouses
This stand contained avocados,pepper, grafted apples, paw paws, tomatoes cabbages and grafted oranges.
Grafted Oranges
Paw paws
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Cabbages
Pepper
Tomatoes and pepper
Herbs
Soil was used as the planting media to do the herbs in a hortipro shadenet. Herbs planted included; Coriander, parsley, celery, Dill and Fennel.
Parsley
Coriander
Celery
Dill
Fennel
Polythene filled with soil
A polythene sheet may also be used to grow quite a number of vegetables such as spinach and kales. Advantages of such a method is that it helps in maximum usage of a small space to increase production.
Doing vegetables in a polythene
Spinach in a round polythene
Landscaping with the use of vegetables
Landscapping is crucial for any household. This may be done with the use of polythene bags where one may plant crops there in such as pepper, spinach, and kales.
Landscaping with vegetables
Improved vegetables+poultry+fish farming
This one was very interesting, crop farming poultry and fish farming all under one space? That is very economical as it saves on space. Chicken dropping are also used to feed the tilapia fish. All that is needed is a chicken house, polythene sheets, crops and fish.
The structure with chicken structure
The roof of the chicken structure (vegetables)
Doing arrow roots in a polythene
Arrowroots are planted in a polythene sheet with some soil. This helps in conserving water used in their growth. Manure is incorporated after three months and within 6 months you may harvest ready arrowroots.
Arrow roots
Strawberries section
The strawberries were far much like ours. An additional learning experience is that they are mulched to prevent moisture loss.
Mulched strawberries
Lettuce
Lettuce grown with soil as the growing media
lettuce
Oats
Oats grown with soil as the growing media
Seedrate 24kgs per acre
Yield= 10 Tonnes per acre
Oats
Dairy fodder
Some of the fodder crops for dairy animals include; Lucerne and vetch.
Vetch
Lucerne
Sunflower
Growing sunflower with soil as the growing media
sunflower
Barley
Barley is used as a fodder crop to dairy animals. It is also used to feed pigs and chicken. Watering is done three times in a day. It’s planted on trays which poses a drainage outlet.
Barley
Livestock
Bees
Classes of bees
There are wide ranges of products from doing apiculture. The main product is honey, some other products include; propolis, bees wax and body cream, soaps and candles. A lenana based company sources stainless bees from a local farmers from kakamega.
Honey products
Propolis
Body Cream
Soap
Poultry
Incubators
There a number of automatic incubators which vary depending on the number of eggs you intend to incubate varying from 264 eggs, 528 eggs and 1056 eggs. The incubators are supplied by a company based in bungoma/Nairobi (Engokho kuku farmer)
Automatic Incubator 528 Eggs 21 days
Automatic incubator- 1056 eggs for 21 days
They als supply other chicken equipment such as brooding lamps, automatic bell drinkers and oxygen atomixer among others.
Automatic drinkers
Vigpro protein concentrates
A supplement to chicken that helps in supplementing all minerals, amino acids, and restoring any deficiency. It also prevents cannibalism, and stops egg eating among chicken. In addition it increases the bird’s appetite and aids in stress conditions. The mixing ration is 1kg for every 10kgs of layers mash.
1kg Vipro for laying chicken
Fish farming
Fish farming has been adapted in the current era. The difference is in the type of polythene used in the farming. Specific polythene should be used such that it does not crack due to excess heating. A purifying machine is also used to clean up the water once it has stayed for long.
Fish pond
Aerator
Rabbit Farming
Hybrid rabbits are reared for their meat as well as their wide range of by-products such as sausages, shoes and pelt products. Rabbit urine may also be harvested and sold since it’s used as a foliar feed. It’s recommended for farmers who decide to go organic.
Some of the benefits of rabbit farming include;
-It takes little space
-Immediate returns (four months)
-Ease of access of the rabbit feeds. Rabbit pellets can be found nearly from every agrovet as well as hay. Rabbits feed on hay and 100gm of the pellets.
Rabbit in a cage
Rabbit house with urine collection units
Dairy farming
There were displays on various breeds of cattle such as fresian, Guernsey and arshyire among others. The main consideration in dairy farming is the dairy structure and the feeds. The feeds are mainly concentrates, roughages and supplements.
Cows feeding on hay
Fresian in cubicles
Guernsey in cubicles
Ayrshire
Companies supplying farm products
The main companies’ supplying farm chemicals were greenlife, simlaw and Amiran. We did compare the concentration ratio on the products. There was a big difference in the concentration ratio with Amiran Kenya providing quality pesticides thus cost effective and effective also in the control of the pests.
Possible recommendations
-We can grow strawberries in a large polythene sheet
-Do chicken, fish and vegetables
-Try vipro for our chicken
- Research on diverse honey products to add value to kiaregi bees products