Investing in Hay Farming in Kenya

The reality of things in Kenya, especially in the job industry is that there is scarcity of jobs. Many people hold good quality papers yet they seem stuck since they have no jobs. It is so frustrating after clearing school, getting high grades then you end up moving from office to office looking for a job that is nowhere to be found.

While many people keep wondering how to make money in the country, a smart Kenyan is making millions of the money through hay farming which many people have not embraced. Hay farming is a very profitable business in Kenya, with good returns yet it does not need a lot of resources.

Hay farming does not need a lot of rainfall or irrigation; it only needs little water to sustain it. This is good news especially to those who live in the semi-arid regions in the country. The most popular type that is grown in the country is the Boma Rhodes grass variety.

This grass only needs lite water and the advantage is that it matures very fast, that is, in less than four months. This also means that when one ventures into the hay business, they will be producing it in two seasons in a high.

One needs to have at least one acre of land so as to make some reasonable money out of it. It will be far much better to have more land under hay so as to get even more profits since the harvesting is mostly mechanized. Before venturing into hay farming, one should consider timing, since the grass has to mature during the dry season, especially between January and April.

Kenya has over 1.8 million small scale dairy farmers who each owns on average 2 dairy cows. Each cow can consume one bale of hay in a day, together with other manufactured dairy products.  This in turn translate to approximately 3 million bales of hay being consumed daily across the country, especially during the dry seasons when dairy farmers have no pastures for their animals but hay. This is how the hay business tends to be very profitable for those practicing it.

Article by Vera Shawiza.