Gideon Kimani is the proprietor of Ndeka Virgin Sunflower Cooking Oil business located in Gwa Kung’u, Nyandarua County.
He grows sunflower which he later processes and sells them in small packages with the highest, five litres, going for Ksh 1,250.
Maina has also created job opportunities as he has hired six workers who help him process sunflower oil for his shop.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Maina is a sunflower farmer from Nyandarua County, cultivating the crops on his three acre piece of land.
He ventured into farming after a photography business he was running became expensive to maintain due to high cost of digital cameras.
Additionally, the farmer is into value addition as he works with youth from his locality to produce oil from sunflowers.
Maina also buys sunflower seeds from farmers that he has contracted at Ksh 30 per kilo.
“Previously, I relied only on seed from my three acres but birds became a menace as they were eating them. Distributing the seeds to about ten farmers, I believed that I would spread the risk of and then buy from them sustainably,” he said.
The seeds will then be dried and cleaned before going into the milling machine which removes the husks and crashes the seeds to produce a thick paste.
The paste is then put in an oil extractor which does the final extraction.
Maina owns a milling machine which can handle up to 600 kilogrammes of seeds everyday giving at least 120 litres of sunflower oil.
“I ensure that I have up to 100 litres of milled oil at any time in my shop, but when demand rises, I hire six workers to process more,” he said.
Maina sells his produce in half a litre, a litre, two litres and five litres packages that goes for Ksh 125, Ksh 250, Ksh 500 and Ksh 1,250 respectively.
Additionally, he also sells sunflower cakes to dairy farmers at Ksh 40 per killogram.
It is important to note that Maina also has a Kenya Bureau of Standards accreditation for his products that has a shelf life of at least a year.
The sunflower oil which sells under Ndeka Virgin Sunflower Cooking Oil has become a popular brand in Nyandarua County cashing in for Maina.
He uses profits from the venture to further expand his business, provide for his family as well as educating his children.
“I neither smoke or drink. The extra people that I hire don’t smoke anywhere near my premise and all of us wear dust coats and masks when milling the sunflower seeds,” he said.
In the future, Maina hopes to turn his oil extraction business into a small industry and hire at least 25 to 30 people permanently.
To successfully farm sunflowers in Kenya, farmers must follow a series of steps, including land preparation, seed selection, planting, irrigation, fertilization, pest control and harvesting.
While there are several challenges associated with sunflower farming, including climate, pests.and diseases, the benefits of growing sunflowers far outweigh the risks.
By following best practices and adopting sustainable farming methods, farmers can reap the financial and environmental benefits of sunflower farming for years to come.