MMOF Stories

Sakami Ranches Ltd

Sakami Ranches Ltd, established in 2004, is a family-owned farming company located close to Kitale town in Kenya. The farm has mainly been engaged in coffee production, but due to the volatile nature of coffee markets and yields from year to year, also macadamia is grown in the bushes giving shade to the coffee trees and improving the quality. In addition, avocado is today part of the farm’s products answering to the booming avocado market in Europe. Sakami has a grower’s export license and is aiming for increased direct sales to the EU focusing on longer term seller-buyer relationships.

Project

Sakami Ranches Ltd

Country

Kenya

How we helped

Investments, business development

The family has a long tradition in the area and is familiar with the locals and their ways of working. The farm creates social impact by offering jobs to the dedicated locals, the number of women being over 100 during the picking seasons. The farm focuses on responsible farming and the whole estate is equipped with drip irrigation, using solar pumps and spring water for irrigation, and washing.

With the help of the invested capital and business development services, Sakami has been able to expand the coffee, macadamia, and avocado plantation by over 100 acres. They have also built two reservoirs  that collect the excess surface runoff after rains, the water being used for irrigation of the crops. Also, a solar pump is now distributing water across the farm and enhancing water savings. The purchase of modern farm equipment has enabled the farm to increase operational efficiency and reduce operational costs. Further, financial and operational business development services provided to Sakami has enabled them to better analyse their data to develop useful insights and more accurately plan for the future. These activities have assisted them in their go-to market planning and resulted in their current plan to increase the higher-quality end-products.

Sakami is re-establishing an indigenous forest along the riparian reserve adjacent  to its farm. This is expected to protect the freshwater springs located within the riparian reserve and provide a habitat for the small antelopes that live in and around the farm. Sakami is cooperating with neighboring farms and as a larger group sharing knowledge and skills, they can offer more volumes to the customers who again benefit from getting bigger amounts from one place.

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