E-farm, a housing cooperative society based in Nairobi is helping farmers own land, houses and manage agribusiness at subsidized rates. According to E-farm’s sales manager, Dinah Kathoni, the society provides affordable settlement and promotes agribusiness with an intention to add value to members land, supplement members’ income and create employment thereby enhancing food security.
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The society has partnered with various organizations among them the Israel embassy which is coming with various technologies in agribusiness management and low cost houses construction.
“We seek to make agribusiness attractive and lucrative to the youth by using modern ICT systems to deliver and manage farming” said Kathoni whose organization was one of the exhibitors at the 2017 Nairobi International Trade Fair.
To register one has to buy 5 ordinary shares worth 1,000 each and pay 2,000 shillings registration fee. Once an interested person registers, he or she can buy a house or plot and sell the same within E-farm’s network at no extra charge according to their 360 marketing strategy. A member with shares is also entitled to dividends every financial year with preferential shareholders paid interests promptly (30% return on investment).
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Members get free advice and consultation regarding investment by attending seminars and trainings at no charge. According to E-farm Chairman, Wallace Ngugi, more than half of Kenya’s arable land which is connected to water sources remains uncultivated. This he says poses a great challenge to the national food security.
“Our commitment is to activate idle parcels of land by involving members of the society and managing projects professionally, for now we are connecting our members to the food value chain that already has established value addition units like the sunflower and honey processing unit in Mwea” says Wallace in a statement.
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According to Dinah Kathoni, the sales manager, farmers can own a share of sunflower and bee farm at 100,000 shillings and earn guaranteed 50,000 per annum for five years. Kathoni acknowledges that the society provides ready title deeds once land is purchased. For Ksh 500,000, a farmer can purchase a 1/8 acre of land with an already established greenhouse worth 250,000. With the greenhouse, one is guaranteed 300,000 every year with the society managing everything on the farmer’s behalf.
Kathoni says the society has contracted agronomists on site to help farmers identify best farming practices. E-farm has ready plots in Malindi- Lamu highway, Juja farm town, Ol Kalou plains, Mwea plains and Kithimani Yatta.
E-farm can be reached on +254 727 141 260