-If Gerphas Odipo would just settle on what he is trained to do, he would have remained on the airwaves where he worked as a radio host. His partner, Damiano Timothy, ekes out a living in the branding and advertising sector.
-But the two gentlemen are ready to soil their hands and change the course of their income generators.The two are building a multi-million chillies and capsicum empire in Ngoliba along the Thika-Garissa Highway.
-Under the Judera Group Ltd, the duo’s mission is to feed Kenyans with lots of Chillie and Capsicum with a projection of planting 1000 acres of the produce in all the counties. So far, this journey has kicked off---65 acres of Chillie are ready for planting at the Ngoliba farm.
-Another 100-acre farm is coming up in Narok, and the land acquisitions can only go further afield.
Leisure trip-The great idea of turning to farming was born during a leisure trip to Ngoliba where they visited a friend who was a contracted French beans farmer.
-All around was a vast and virgin lands.“ We looked at the lands around his and we instantly saw all manner of opportunities;
-All around was a vast and virgin lands.“ We looked at the lands around his and we instantly saw all manner of opportunities;
-Real estate, medium scale farming , subsistence farming and leasing.
-We decided to give farming a trial,” says Odipo.
-Starting small-Without prior experience in farming, Odipo and Damiano decided to start small. -They needed to learn the basics of farming, understand the agribusiness value chain and conduct market research.
-“We started with one acre of French beans out of the 65 acres we now have,” explains Odipo.
-Theirs was a blunt start. From their sub contract, they made only Sh.800 from their acre of French beans after they sold the produce at a throw away price following the collapse of the contract.
-They did not let their dreams die. The next season, they planted 4 acres of watermelons. Another rude shock. Despite a favourable weather, and the right soil, the watermelons just failed to yield.
-Patience pays-Having gone through the learning curve, Odipo and Damiano, with unfaltering resilience, went back to the drawing board.
-“We learnt that success lies in preparation. Especially in farming. We just needed to prepare adequately.
-This meant coming up with a foundation on which our company would stand,” says Odipo.
-They came up with a vision; to feed Kenya an acre at a time. They envisioned to be large-scale farmers, farming at least 1,000 acres per county.
-With this vision, Judera Group Limited was born with three key pillars. It seeks to create jobs, increase the country’s GDP and to contribute to food security.
-This vision led to identification of five players who would drive their dreams - landowners, job seekers, investors, consumers and government.
-Landowners with vast pieces of land would lease the land to them; job seekers would provide labour; investors would give them money hoping the duo would grow it; government institutions would fund their long-term projects while exporters and local buyers would get their produce
to the consumers.
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