Daniel Haller is the proprietor of Nile Crocodile Farm located in Kikambala, Kilifi County.
As of 2015, he was rearing over 40,000 crocodiles on the farm which has been in existence for over 28 years.
Haller was introduced into crocodile farming by his father, and he later partnered with a friend, Harun Muturi, to start the farm.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Background
Haller was inspired to start the farm by his dad who introduced him to crocodile farming while he was a kid growing up.
In the 1970s, his dad, an environmentalist, introduced crocodiles in their farm to eat dead chicken and sheep to avoid wastage.
“My father felt that he had to find something to eat the animals and birds. He experimented and found that crocodiles were the best option,” he said.
In the 1980s, he studied aquaculture and graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Aquaculture from the University of Stirling, Scotland.
After returning to Kenya in the 1990s, Haller partnered with the late Harun Muturi to start the farm.
“We got a loan of Ksh 34.2 million from European Investment Bank. Muturi also provided the money to purchase the land. We later got a licence from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to practice crocodile farming in 1996,” says Haller.
Haller keeps the crocodiles mainly for skin which he sells to among other companies, Heng Long Leather Ltd in Singapore.
The skins are used in production of wallets, handbags and shoes.
“The skin is sold according to the belly width. The international market price for first grade skin of an animal which is five years old and about 190cm long is KSh 13,350
“The skin should be unblemished and high quality to get its full value, which reduces by 25 per cent if there is any blemish,” Haller said in an interview with Nation in 2015.
He sells the meat to hotels and the local community at between Ksh 280 to Ksh 350 a kilo.
At the farm, Haller slaughters at least 4,000 to 5,000 each year after which they preserve their wet-salted skin at three degrees centigrade.
The crocodile farmer noted that the right quality of crocodile skin means good business.
“It is a business that requires a lot of attention to detail. You can lose all your money by producing skin which does not have the right quality
“The risk is high and you can go bankrupt if after five years you do not get the right quality needed for the international luxury fashion industry. Quality standards also keep on increasing and the price fluctuates depending on demand in the global market,” Haller explained.
Haller doesn’t breed the crocodiles in his farm and they work with locals who collect eggs between December and January.
“We have a centre along the banks of Tana River in Lower Tana Galili location where we engage residents to collect eggs for us left by the wild crocodiles. Each female lays about 32 eggs a year,” he said.
The locals get paid Ksh 20 for every egg collected and a Ksh 25 bonus if the eggs hatch.
“It takes between 76 to 90 days to hatch the eggs. Eggs are transferred three weeks before hatching starts to the farm’s incubators
“Crocodiles are wild animals, you must always be careful when handling them to avoid getting bitten. The key, however, in the farming is to reduce their stress as much as possible so that they stay calm,” Haller explained.
