There are over 200 Agribusiness opportunities in Kenya that are very profitable and require less capital to start.
Agribusiness is the business of agricultural production. It includes agrichemicals, breeding, crop production (farming or contract farming), distribution, farm machinery, processing, and seed supply, as well as marketing and retail sales.
In this article, I will be highlighting agribusiness opportunities that you can try out as you plan to venture into agriculture.
Agribusiness opportunities in Kenya
Kenya is rich in agribusiness opportunities characterised the very many fertile soils and available raw materials.
The opportunities include:
1. Fodder Fabrication
If there is a cattle-breeding farm in your region or even a small private household, your business on fodder fabrication will be a profitable investment.
2. Mushroom farming
Mushroom requires an incubation house and a cropping house. You can make use of the vertical space too since mushrooms don’t grow tall. Once they get to maturity, they are very marketable. They usually go to around 600Sh per kg.
They also take a short period to mature between three days to one week, which means you can make more significant profits if you find a good market.
Mushrooms are sold to supermarkets, hotels and households.
3. Breeding
Breeding is a type of agribusiness that involves rearing animals for purposes of meat, fibre, eggs or other animal products. For instance, Poultry farming consists of the keeping of chicken. The most common breeds include Indigenous or Kienyeji, layers and broilers.
The kienyeji chicken is kept for meat purposes while layers are kept for eggs.
Animal breeding is one of the profitable businesses in Kenya. They require a medium an amount of labour, but as a farmer, you are guaranteed better returns.
For example, with good marketing, you can earn at least 9000sh a month selling a tray of eggs every day and 18,000 selling one chicken every day.
4. Greenhouse farming
A greenhouse provides a controlled environment that best suits the growth of crops. They are an enclosure in which moisture content and temperatures can be regulated. Your plants are also protected from the outside menace of insects, rodents and other animals. This means you can farm anything besides cash crops all year long.
The most prevalent greenhouse crops are; courgettes, tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers, cabbages, and other vegetables which are high-value crops.
Yields in a greenhouse are higher compared to open field farming for the same space utilised.
Greenhouses come in different sizes as small as 20M by 6M which you can fit comfortably on your ¼ acre piece of land. This will cost you around Ksh100,000 to Ksh150,000.
The starting capital if you are renting a greenhouse range from 200,000Sh to 400,000Sh and less than 50,000Sh for labour when using your materials.
However, greenhouses compared to other types of farming can bring you higher returns, but they need more planning.
Read: The Future of Poultry Farming in Kenya
5. Horticulture Farming
Horticulture is the growing of flowers, vegetables and fruits mainly for sale. Most of the horticultural farms are small and carefully cultivated. If you pick on the best crop, horticulture can be one profitable agribusiness idea.
As a horticultural farmer, you can specialise in growing one main crop and maximise of making profits from it. For instance, flower farming is one of the most profitable horticultural business.
People buy flowers every day for weddings graduations or any momentous occasion. Also, the flowers can be exported to overseas countries which have a higher market, and the returns are better off.
Especially roses, they have high demand globally.
6. Tree farming
Tree farming is one of the most profitable agribusiness ventures in Kenya. With a starting capital of 100,000, you can make up to five million on returns.
Tree planting requires very little attention. Once you plant them, you will need to monitor them for a few months until they grow. Once they stabilise, you will only need to weed and prune them from time to time, thus giving you enough time to do your other businesses.
Depending on the type of tree, you can harvest them between three to 5 years except for transmission poles and timber which takes between 8 to 20 years to mature.
Eucalyptus is one of the profitable trees in Kenya alongside pines and cypress. At maturity, the eucalyptus goes for between KES 4,000 and KES 5,000. On the other side, mature pines and cypress can fetch between KES 7,000 and KES 10,000.
Tree seedlings cost anywhere between KES 5 and KES 20 depending on the type and vendor location. The breakdown means cypress tree farming is equally profitable if you are patient enough and into long-term investments.
7. Fertiliser Distribution
The fertiliser is one of the agribusiness opportunities with high-profit margins but mostly neglected compared to other opportunities. This business is not very congested, and it’s also very straight forward. You can buy fertiliser in bulk and sell it, local farmers, in small quantities for use in their farms. Especially, vegetable farmers, they require constant fertiliser and having a distribution centre can give you good returns.
Read: Beginners’ Guide on Tomato Farming in Kenya
How do you start agribusiness?
Below are a few tips you can learn while planning to venture into agribusiness.
- Determine What Services & Products You Will Offer. Before you start anything, you should define the products and services that you will provide. …
- Get Financing. Seek the right form of financing for your agribusiness. It can be from a Sacco, merry-go-rounds, bank loans or even savings depending on your capabilities.
- Get The Appropriate Licenses before starting a business; however small it looks like.
- Develop a Marketing Plan for your business.
Benefits of Agribusiness in Kenya
Agribusiness represents more than 40 per cent of Kenya’s economy. We continuously rely on agriculture every day for food supply. Besides, farmers depend on agriculture as the source of their livelihood.
Agribusiness is one of the best business opportunities in Kenya because food never goes out of fashion. People must eat food every day. Which means when you venture into agribusiness, profits are guaranteed.
The value chain in the agribusiness industry, from food production, processing and marketing provide tremendous opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. So, if you’re looking to start a business or invest in an industry that makes a significant social impact, provides jobs and creates sustainable wealth.
Agribusiness opportunities in Kenya: Conclusion
Each farm business is different. Before you start your intake a few minutes to define your goals. This will help you refine your business concept.
Once you define your business goals, it will help you determine your profits and the long term goals of your business.
Research is another essential aspect in agribusiness you should put into consideration. It will guide you on the market inflow, crop changes or any other agribusiness related concerns. For instance, if you are venturing into farming, having a proper research background on what you want to do will help you note on best crop practises like timing and so forth.
