Juggling farm work and fishing souls

• To increase milk production, the Catholic priest learnt about a new fodder preservation technology that does not require molasses or innoculants.
• Fr Mwebia began with growing bananas but later realised it was the kind of farming practised by almost every family in the locality and beyond.
• The dairy meal consists of half maize jam, whole grain maize, cotton cake, sunflower, fishmeal, Maclick supper salt, a mixture of quicklime and other ingredients.
• The priest bought a feed that he believes was responsible for the deaths of his 100 pigs. Fr Mwebia keeps chickens, peacocks and dogs “just for the love of nature”.

Some three kilometres from Nkubu, on the Mitunguu road, is a mixed farm belonging to Catholic priest Ashford Mwebia.

Fr Mwebia, a priest in the Dioceses of Meru, says he does farming out of passion. He credits his father, now deceased, for making him love crop and animal husbandry. Part of Fr Mwebia’s farm profits goes to charity.

He has sponsored bright and needy students from primary school to university for the past 15 years.

The calling to serve humanity as a religious man did not stop Fr Mwebia from pursuing farming, most of which he does during his free time.

Barely a year in service as a priest, Fr Mwebia was made the principal of St Daniel’s Boys High School, Tharaka-Nithi County.

That is where he came face-to-face with what children from poverty-stricken backgrounds go through in pursuit of education and basic needs. In his efforts to assist the students, Fr Mwebia realised that farming could be the best option.

It was not profitable to produce bananas since the supply greatly overwhelmed demand. He had to try something else, fast.

He abandoned banana growing and went for dairy and pig farming. The animals at his farm are kept in partitioned sheds.

Every shed holds animals according to their age and gestation. The priest has 10 dairy cows, which give him an average of 150 litres of milk every day.

A litre of milk sold to Meru Central Cooperative Society goes for Sh34. To maximise production and ensure the right feed concentrate, Fr Mwebia makes his own dairy meal. He buys raw materials and makes the Total Mixed Ration (TMR).

The dairy meal consists of half maize jam, whole grain maize, cotton cake, sunflower, fishmeal, Maclick supper salt, a mixture of quicklime and other ingredients.

FLUCTUATIONS IN FEED QUALITY

The priest says fluctuations in the quality of feeds inconvenience the animals. “Poor feeds fail to meet the required protein and energy level and affect milk production,” he said.

According to Fr Mwebia, a farmer must have enough quality feeds to last him or her at least six months to avoid any the inconveniences.

“I realised that suppliers were offering very expensive feeds, which unfortunately did not meet the nutritional requirements of my animals. It compelled me to begin making the feeds,” he said.

To increase the production of quality milk, the priests inquired and learnt about a new fodder preservation technology.
It does not require one to use molasses or innoculants to preserve the animal feeds. The technology – dubbed ‘Mama Silage Bags’ – helps sweeten the fodder.

He says it has increased milk production per animal by at least five litres. According to Mr Phillip Oketch, a dairy expert and one of the service providers implementing the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project in Tharaka-Nithi, the bags help reduce production costs.

“There is no use of molasses like in the conventional bags and systems. The nutritional value in the feeds is also guaranteed as there is no heating up. All the energy is retained and wastage is minimised because moulds don’t form. It means there is no chemical reaction,” Mr Oketch said.

“The bag is ideal for a small-scale farmer with one to five cows. Such make up around 80 per cent of dairy farmers in the country. The bags preserve fodder for a very long time without making it lose its nutritional value.”

The priest bought a feed that he believes was responsible for the deaths of his 100 pigs. Fr Mwebia keeps chickens, peacocks and dogs “just for the love of nature”.

Records on the farm are up-to-date. Activities and details of every animal are recorded. Fr Mwebia’s cows are tagged, making record-keeping by the farm’s two permanent employees easy.

Apart from the animals, the priest grows coffee on three acres, sweet potatoes on two acres and maize on a five-acre piece.

To keep up with the times, Fr Mwebia attends farmers’ trainings and workshops in and out of Tharaka-Nithi County.

He says some of the students whose education he sponsored are prominent people in the government and private organisations.

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D.I.Y

Own feeds have right concentrates

Fr Ashford Mwebia prefers making his own dairy feeds using maize jam, whole grain maize, cotton cake, quicklime, salt, fish meal and other ingredients. He buys raw materials to make the total mixed ration.

The priest began making feeds for his pigs when a feed he bought from a dealer killed 100 animals. Some of the proceeds from the farm goes to charity.