By George Munene
BIDCO Kenya is looking for farmers to plant sunflower and soybean to supply back to BIDCO. The minimum acreage required is one acre. They are encouraging farmers to pool together so as to get a better return.
Additionally, they are looking for farmers willing to plant bamboo to help supply fuel for their firing kilns.
They are also looking for distributors for their animal feeds. which are the by-products of the oil production process.
Related News:Inter-cropping maize with sunflower reduces bird damage
BIDCO is also collaborating with Apiculture Ventures, a bee keeping company, in recognition of the important role that bees play in the growth of crops. They hope to encourage farmers who take on the sunflower and soybean projects to buy hives from Apiculture Ventures to make honey as well.
Apiculture Ventures will provide technical services for pollination and buy the honey and other bee products after each harvest. For farmers who want to produce their own honey, they will provide the technical support as well. A starter hive/bee kit is Sh130,000 and has 10 hives. For effective pollination of one acre of sunflower, a farmer needs about 25 hives. The company is currently paying Sh500/kg of honey.
Related News:Former maize farmer finds a new paying off venture in sunflower
Related News:25 Muranga farmers earn Sh20m a year from French beans through group export contract
BIDCO is providing technical support with the oil seed cultivation and harvesting. The crops are drought resistant and hardy and grow in most parts of the country. The do well both in low and high altitudes as well as in warm and cold weather.
For details on BIDCO, contact Mr John Kariuki on +254721569835, email john.kariuki@bidcoafrica.com
For details about beekeeping, contact pauline@apicultureventures.co.ke