Capital to buy seeds for vegetable farm

Entrepreneur

About Me

I was born in a family of five children, to my parents Alex Simiyu and Esther Simiyu. My parents were farmers and struggled to feed and educate us but they were loving and hardworking parents. I attended Namwacha primary school but didn't manage to attend high school because of my parents financial limitations. At an early age I became an entrepreneur and got involved in farming by buying and reselling vegetables and maize. Through farming I purchased a motorbike and started carrying passengers for a fee. I saved money through this business and farming and bought myself land, got married and had 3 children. I am still a committed farmer and also raise goats on my farm. I also have a chicken project. I overcame hardship by sheer determination and a commitment to a disciplined routine in my farm. I till my farm myself and do all the chores so as to save costs. I live in Bukengele village which is in Bungoma county, Western Kenya and its a serene and green environment with plenty of rainfall. The locals are mostly farmers and lead quioet lives. I am determined to educate all my kids through my farming and my firstborn, a girl, is in second year of high school while her follower, a girl too, is in Grade 8 and the lastborn boy is in Grade 5. I love and treasure my children and spend a lot of time encouraging them to be positive in life and see the silver lining in every cloud.

My Business

I grow maize, cassava, vegetables, bananas and beans that I regularly sell to locals and other resellers. I also use my motorbike to finance the purchase of seeds in regard to the above crops. Farming of these items ensures I have a steady income because everyone needs to eat and in Kenya people love fresh food. I also supply clients directly to their homes using my motorbike and that gives me advantage over my competitors. I buy the maize seed at 8$ per packet and me and my wife usually till the land on our own instead of hiring labor then we weed it twice and in the course of 4 months depending on the seed variety we harvest close to 4 bags of maize. I keep one bag for home use that lasts six months and sell the other three at 3$ each hence making 9$. After recouping the costs of the seed I save this money and invest it in schoolfees while keeping a large portion in a community welfare group to acquire interest. I also use a percentage to buy vegetable seeds that I plant for use in selling later. Through this I have managed to buy dairy goats and built myself and my wife a lovely home. The veggies are bought daily and sprout and mature in two weeks. I earn weekly from the sale of the vegetables.

Project Proposal

I will buy Kale seed satchets (250grams) at 11$ each. I will buy two satchets and plant them in this rainy season. I have my own natural fertilizer and will plant these and maintain them in under two weeks when they have fully germinated. In 4 weeks they will be ready to sell on the market. The proceeds will enable me to buy more stachets and also enable me to have food in my home as we use vegetables for meals. I expect to make a handsome savings of about 5$ per week and I can invest in table banking within our community and access credit from members.

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