By Antynet Ford

What began as a retirement plan for teacher Victor Otieno Maura has turned into a growing agribusiness supplying crude palm oil to customers across western Kenya and as far as Nairobi.

Victor ventured into oil palm farming in 2016, starting with only 20 trees on his land in Siaya County. At the time, he was exploring an alternative to traditional crops common in the area.

“I started with twenty palm trees and I added more where I currently have forty trees. During the onset of the long rains I am planning to get to 60 by adding more twenty,” Victor said.

He now produces crude palm oil every four months, harvesting three times a year and earning up to Sh2.4m a year from his sales.

“The production is okay because the harvest is made after every four months. So in a year, I make three harvests. The harvesting is self-continuous,” he said.

When he started Victor expected his primary buyers to come from his village. Instead, demand came from outside the area after word spread about the oil’s nutritional value. Palm oil is high in vitamins A and E, both of which help immunity, skin and eyes, as well as growth and heart health.

“Due to economic constraints in the villages, mostly people from Nairobi, Kisumu, Siaya and Homa Bay, among others, are most of my clients. People who know much about palm oil are the ones who place their orders mostly, so it is never here in the village where we live,” he said.

As demand grew, customers began placing orders from distant towns, forcing him to organise deliveries beyond Siaya County.

“We deliver everywhere across the country. Most people here in the village are not yet informed about the benefits of palm oil,” he said.

Victor sells the crude oil directly to consumers. “A litre is Sh1,000 but it also depends with who is buying. There are people that I sell for over Sh1,000. One hundred milliliters goes for Sh100,” he said.

The farmer says palm oil has proven more profitable than conventional crops in the region.

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“Palm oil farming has a better economic value than maize and sugarcane, among other crops grown here in Siaya. You cannot compare its sale with those. There is a market for palm oil in Kenya because most of my clients buy it for medicinal purposes, as it is cholesterol-free, has vitamins A and E and can be used for cooking,” he said.

“One plant of palm can give up to 21 litres of crude oil per harvest and by counting over the total number of trees you can get that for the forty plants I make over 840 litres per harvest season,” he said.

The growing market has also drawn attention from industry players, with Maura reporting that large companies are also now encouraging expansion of palm cultivation in the region.

“I have been approached by big companies like Bidco Africa who have been telling me to talk to farmers in Siaya to venture into the farming of palm so that we can grow more plants and make them build a factory for processing here.”

Beyond cooking oil, the crude product has multiple uses, including for soap, candles and lubricants, while the leaves and tree by-products can be used for brooms, baskets and thatching.

“There is market for palm and I would urge more farmers in Siaya to venture into it because there is market already and the demand is high.”

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