From Poshomill to Powerhouse: Nyeri Farmer Carves Niche in Canola Oil Industry
Seventeen years ago, in a quiet corner near Mweiga Town in Nyeri County, a small-time poshomill operator had a dream. Today, that dream has grown into a thriving cottage industry producing high-quality canola oil and defying competition from industry giants.
David Kimondo, the founder of Kieni Canola Oil, recalls the moment in 2007 when he saw the first golden drops of canola oil flow from his locally fabricated machine. “I can say I was the happiest man that day, very excited seeing my idea of producing oil from the tiny canola seeds come to fruition,” he said. Though the machine was inefficient, that moment marked the birth of an enduring journey.
Despite the inefficiency, to him, that first drop was like beholding a newborn baby and experiencing the joy of the moment not wanting the thoughts of how he was to nurture the venture going forward limit the experience.
The entrepreneur who before then was just running a poshomill business at his peri-urban home near Mweiga Town in Kieni West, Nyeri County would then begin the process of registering the enterprise and seeking for certification of the oil with the view of commercialising it.
“I did not have any knowledge for processing the oil as I had roughly got the idea from a white settler in Laikipia who was producing it for his farm automotive applications,” said Kimondo.
Upgrading
Two years later in 2009 he was forced to spend Ksh800,000, almost his entire savings to import an oil expeller machine from China and set up his cottage industry. He also used part of the remaining savings amount to buy some five 90kg bags of canola at Ksh5,000 a bag from the white settler.
From the small industry, he continued producing the oil and taking samples to the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) for tests and approvals. This was not an easy process, he says.
“Up to five times, tests and trials of the oil failed to meet the regulator standards despite the efforts and costs I applied but I did not lose hope thanks to the expert advice for improvement I received every time my products fell below the quality requirements,” said Kimondo.
Another challenge he faced at the teething stage of the venture was outright competition from big canola oil producers, majorly the white settlers who ensured they bought almost all the seeds from the few farmers then to face him out of business.
“I also ensured that I approach the growers nicely by teaching them how to produce canola and offer them a price a little bit higher than that of the competitors to survive and grow,” he said.
After rounds of trials, he would finally get the product approved and since that time the agripreneur’s small manufacturing industry has been a beehive of activities.
The premise, situated alongside a marram road few metres off Nyeri-Nairobi highway, currently has a smaller and bigger electric-powered oil expeller machines operating quietly thus one would rarely imagine that a super oil like canola whose demand globally is insatiable is processed here.
Indeed, even if you have strong sense of smell and may want to get its scent, you may be disappointed as fresh canola oil have almost no smell whatsoever safe for some visible spill overs that make the floor oily.
Oil processing
As we are ushered in the processing unit, we meet Christabella Manyonge the machines operator in her working overall attire. Due to the efficiency of the machines, her work is simple, to properly feed canola seeds, first, into the bigger machine which can crush three bags of 90kg canola seeds in about four hours.
“We ensure the seeds processed are dried to 11% moisture content for them to be crushed well by the machine to produce oil which we collect into a drum through sievers and sludge for further crushing to remove some oil remains,” said Manyonge to Smart Farmer Africa team.
From here, she says, the sludge is passed through the smaller machine twice until the remaining oil is completely squeezed out leaving molds of almost dry cakes.
According to the operator, the three 90kg bags of canola seeds, if properly processed, can yield more than 70 litres of refined oil for market while the cakes which are the sole byproducts are milled through another machines into animal feeds.
“We normally realise about 150 kilos of animal feeds from the three 90kg processed seeds. The feeds are sold as supplement to livestock farmers nearby who walk in to buy at the industry or faraway farmers on order,” said Manyonge.
According to Kimondo, the oil is sold, under the brand name ‘Kieni Canola Oil’, through various outlets right from the industry shop at Mweiga to other shops and supermarkets in Nyeri Town, Nakuru, Nyahururu, Chaka and in Nairobi.
“We sell a litre of canola oil at Ksh400. We also have other oils that we process such as castor (mbonombono) oil that we sell at Ksh1500 a litre, black seed oil and pumpkin oil among other products,” he said.
The cottage industry currently processes a tonne of canola seeds a week which can yield up to 200 litres of oil and 1400 kilos of castor seeds which produce 20 litres of oil a week.
Having been approved by the National Products Industry (NPI) and with herbal medicine knowledge, Kimondo is now spicing the oil with some herbal extracts to make other medicinal products for his many health conscious consumers.
Training farmers
Kimondo has since embarked on training farmers especially those who grow wheat the importance of rotating the crop with canola and its economic value. He also teaches consumers about the benefit of the edible oil thanks to a platform he has been offered by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in almost all the agricultural events to exhibit the products and educate the public owing his years of experience.
“I want to thank the government through AFA for allowing small enterprises such as Kieni Canola Oil to have space to thrive. I’m really greatfull for the support and recognitions I have received over the years,” he said.
He has today become a popular figure in agricultural shows, field days and training and workshop events countrywide sensitising farmers and consumers about canola and other natural edible oils.
As a result, many farmers especially from Timau where canola is now grown by many know him and would always call while the crop is ready for harvest. He is never afraid of the big processors.
“Sometimes it me who direct them to the big players when I have purchased enough for a season though I would love to improve on my capacity to buy and process as much as possible because the demand in huge,” he said adding that for a cottage industry like his, everything from sensitisation to marketing solely depends on him unlike with the established set ups.
Possible returns
Kimondo says a farmer can never go wrong with canola. An acre can be planted with about 4kg of seeds and consume 30kg of DAP fertiliser and in about 100 days, the farmer can harvest 1-1.5 tonnes of seeds.
Currently, a kilo of canola seeds is sold at between Ksh70 and Ksh180 meaning from an acre, a grower can rake about Ksh270,000 or Ksh105,000 a season from the crop whose investment in terms of input and labour per acre cannot exceed Ksh10,000, according to the entrepreneur.
Generally, the introduction of canola, say on a three-year cycle initially, will lead to improved net income and profitability over the period.
However, Kimondo decries lack of enough producers of castor and back seeds locally something which forces him buy them from as far as coastal region and from Ethiopia respectively.