There is this adage: one’s misfortune is another’s opportunity. We’ve witnessed many practical examples of it for instance with the COVID millionaires, people who were making a killing as the rest of humanity were being affected both directly and indirectly by the COVID-19 pandemic. But in the recent months I’ve seen something similar to that, of shrewd businesses people taking advantage of the recent– ongoing drought in the country.
I thought about coining them something similar to the ‘COVID millionaires’ but it seemed extreme since these group is not driven by greed but by only profit. So I eventually settled on ‘grass entrepreneurs’ which appeared less repulsive. It’s safe that way and it doesn’t attract unwanted attention. Nevertheless they’re still vultures.
If you’ve been in Kenya in the past few months, then you have seen the drought. Personally I’ve been at the epicenter of this drought. I’ve been in Kajiado since last year and believe me when I say I’ve never experienced anything like this in my entire life. Having been born and brought up in Busia county, I’ve been lucky enough to not experience drought. To be honest, drought is something we used to hear from others, through media and read in books. It was something that happened to other people far away from us. So you can imagine my shock watching livestock carcasses everywhere you turned. For months not seeing anything green around except maybe in homes of the few blessed enough to own boreholes or piped water. The nomadic community in this regions, some having lived here all their lives have of course seen droughts, but not as bad as this one. And we all know this is one of the adverse effects of climate change.
The Maasai still owning hundreds of heads of livestock, have been hit hard with the lack of rains and the long drought. The only option left was to start buying haystacks and anything else that could pass as feed: weeds and other farm residues such as maize stocks. Seeing an opportunity in this, people started flowing into Kajiado towns with trucks full of haystacks and other feeds.
Hay was hotcake. It was everywhere, on the roads you would see it being ferried by customers on motorbikes, in personal cars, and even women carrying it on their backs. Hay was on demand and the traders had the supply. Business boomed.
Hay was going between shillings 250 and 300. A farm like the late Senator Yusuf Haji, the current DPP’s father currently with about 70 cattle and one lone donkey, was daily feeding the cattle with a minimum of 25 haystacks. Some quick math will tell you these guys are spending close to 7,000 shillings in a day on feeds alone. So you can imagine the amount in months! And I’ve heard of farmers that spend even more.
This will tell you that grass farming if taken seriously can be a lucrative venture. You don’t need much to grow grass, do you?
All a farmer will require to grow quality grass is water which you can use sprinkler irrigation to water evenly. You will also require a couple of farmhands, depending on the size of your farm to help in weeding which involves getting rid of shrubs and any unwanted plants. They can also help in harvesting and other accompanying tasks.
As you can see the cost is manageable. It’s even better for guys from regions receiving abundant rainfall like Western Kenya. The most crucial thing in this business is timing. Like now the rains are here, meaning the boom seasons is almost over. The grass entrepreneurs are now smiling all the way to the bank as the rest of you go broke. And as you will be preparing your farm to sow maize, they will be tending to their grass in readiness for another opportunity — drought. Think about this and send your feedback.