To farm or not to farm: I choose to farm because without farming the existence of mankind is threatened by starvation

My name is Peter Safari Kagereki and I am a rabbit farmer in Embu, Kenya. I studied to obtain a Bachelors of Commerce and Marketing. I am not keen to become employed, but rather wish to be a job creator.

The journey to be a business owner has not been easy due to limited capital and the fact that I was still in school while developing my agribusiness enterprise. However, the agribusiness space in Kenya is ripe and the opportunities are unlimited.

I will highlight my business that I have been developing since 2007 as a hobby. Our business teacher from high school told us that a shilling today is worth two tomorrow and sitting there listening to him explain the concept, I decided to put his words to the test. I started the business from my meager pocket money and bought three rabbits. I have seen the business grow from those three rabbits to over 100 bringing in good returns along the way.

One might ask, is it cool to do rabbit farming? The answer is yes. Rabbits are lovely farm animals to look after, they are very prolific and starting capital required is not very high and hence your investment can earn returns in just one year. The project got some donor funding between 2010 and 2014, and sales to other farmers also attracted great returns.

The income from rabbits comes from: the sale of breeding stock to other farmers; rabbit meat; rabbit skins and hides, and from the sale of rabbit urine and foliar fertilizer – which is prepared from the urine. I have experienced the industry of rabbit farming from introduction, growth, and maturity.

Currently, rabbit urine is a key income earner for hundreds of farmers. In the past one year, I have been able to net over $2,000 in profit. This may not be considered as enough money by a youth but the goodwill I have built is ten times more.

This year I have found a partner and together we have set our target which is to open a foliar fertilizer production plant, increase the rabbit population to 1,000 mature rabbits and employ 10 youth on the farm and production plant with an additional 15 more young employees to help with sales and distribution.  The projections on the net profit this year 2017 are $20,000.

When one asks me, “What do you do for a living?” I am quick to tell them “I AM A RABBIT FARMER”. The business has had its ups and downs but given the opportunity to be employed and to do farming I would choose to do farming, not because there is a lot of money to be made but because without farming the existence of mankind is threatened by starvation.

To me farming is not work, it is a lifestyle. I enjoy farming and I have discovered I can make profit from it too.

Join agribusiness today! A shilling today is worth two tomorrow.