Top seven affordable innovations at Eldoret ASK show

Pump helps small scale farmers manage costs when irrigating farms.

Despite the unpredictable weather, Kenyans of all walks of life made their way to this year’s Eldoret Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) in their thousands.

Held at the commercial hub of North Rift, Kenya’s food basket, the show attracted Government Ministries, parastatals, big companies, Small and Medium Enterprises, and the Jua Kali sector players. There were more than 140 exhibitions.

Exhibitors showcased their best innovations to farmers and potential buyers living up to the ASK shows’ theme: ‘Promoting innovation in Agriculture and Trade.’

From new irrigation technologies to dairy production to poultry, innovators wowed agricultural show enthusiasts that also included students from various learning institutions ranging from primary schools to colleges.

Eldoret ASK show chairperson Susan Seron said the turnout was impressive and the technologies being showcased were equally good. 

“This year we have cutting-edge solutions that target small-holder farmers. These are really the technologies for today and the future. They are smart, efficient and affordable. ”

Smart Harvest sampled some of the technologies that stole the limelight:

1. Solar-powered water pump

From the first look, you would think  Chloride Exide was displaying a random solar panel, but it was an impressive innovation.

A closer look at the solar-powered water pump named Maji Pump, shows how it was pumping water in a bucket.

“This is a cheap technology that helps you pump irrigation water from a borehole or a stream to your farm. It is our newest and cheapest technology, tailor-made for small-holder farmers who have been using petrol generators to pump water,” Ken Bakari, a Chloride Exide renewable energy engineer explained to curious show goers.

Bakari said the Maji Pump which costs Sh25,000 was established for farmers who use drip irrigation.

According to the renewable energy engineer, the technology pumps 56 litres of water for irrigation or storage per minute, making it a super effective water pump.

He said the technology requires no maintenance costs and lasts for more than 25 years.

“The water pump is portable and can be moved from water source to the other. We invented this technology to save fuel and electricity costs for farmers. There are no maintenance costs and a farmer can pump water a whole day if they wish,” Bakari says.

As demonstrated by Bakari, Maji Pump, apart from the solar panel, comes with a water heating panel that enables the farmer to heat water. It is also used for lighting.

The technology company says it has partnered with farmers to set up demonstration farms in Mwala in the Eastern region and Kimwarer in Elgeyo Marakwet County. The technology is assembled in Nairobi but the firm has sales agents in Eldoret. 

2. Solar-powered incubator and water pump

A brain child of Sunculture technology firm, the multipurpose solar-powered water pumps water and also powers an incubator in poultry section of a farm.

It is one of the eye-catching technologies that attracted the attention of farmers and students.

Several high school students kept asking questions at the exhibition stalls.

As explained by the firm’s senior sales agent, the Sh97,000 technology comes with a battery that when fully charged, pumps water continuously for 24 hours while warming an incubator and at the same time warming a poultry house.

“It pumps water to as far as 1.4 kilometres from the source at the rate 3,000 litres per hour,” Jepchirchir explains.

Just like Maji Pump, the Sunculture technology lights up a farmer’s home and farm, significantly reducing electricity costs.

The sales agent says the technology powers at least four bulbs the entire night while still pumping water for irrigation.

3. Mobile tractor power milking parlour

From a quick one, you may assume it was a normal tractor with a roofed structure as trailer, but there’s is more.

The technology that attracted many was a milking parlour that is attached to a tractor, and with four cow cubicles. What made it stand out is its mobility. 

 The tractor-aided milking parlour is a product of Agri Assist Limited and according the firm, it costs a fairly farmer Sh1.9 million. The new technology comes with the tractor. 

The milking parlour, unlike the common electric-powered ones that are common in many dairy farms, the tractor power milking parlour gives the farmer the opportunity to move around with it in farm, milking anywhere their cows could be grazing.

“We started an assembly plant in Eldoret to serve our customers in the North Rift region better. We also have a branch in Kitale and Nakuru,” Agri Assist sales representative Geoffrey Sencha said. 

Sencha explained that the milking cubicles are folded immediately after cows are milked and the tractor then transports the milk to the market using the same parlor which acts as the trailor. 

He says the milking parlor uses tractor power instead of electricity. 

5. Livestock feed miller

There were several livestock feed millers but there was this portable one manufactured in the rural county of Nandi.

Kabunyeria Workshop from Nandi had a meticulously designed machine that can chop animal feeds including silage, maize stocks, corn grass, boma rods, Napier grass, sun flower and beans among other animal feeds.

Workshop headman Charles Kipleting showed how the livestock feed miller chops food and uses two outlets – one letting out dry food and another letting out grounded green matter.

“The machine is easily portable and long lasting, with minimal maintenance. A litre of petrol produces 10 bags of silage of six bags of fine feeds,” Kipleting explains.

Kipleting said the production plant is a village innovators workshop in a remote Kabirier Village in Tinderet constituency.

The portable machine, costs Sh35,000 and the workshop meets transport cost within the county to the farm.

A dairy farmer, Michael Koech desscribe the technology as a gamechanger and a practical solution for smallholders.

“This is the technology we have been waiting for. The old machines in our farms are bulky and heavy, making it difficult to move it around the farm,” Koech said.

6. Automated grinding machine

Ugali lovers were not left behind in the show that comes to a close today.

A 25-year-old innovator from Eldoret National Polytechnic showcased his rare technological prowess when he showcased the first automated posho mill to the excitement of ASK enthusiasts.

Kevin Furaha, the student innovator said the machine operates just like a normal grinding mill and has an Automated Teller Machine with a slot where coins are inserted and it automatically grinds grain to flour to the corresponding amounts inserted.

The grinding machine was two years ago announced the overall winner in the innovations category in the presence of Principal Secretary Dr. Kevit Desai and Furaha was awarded Sh200,000 meant to improve his invention.

“This innovation is seeking to tell the world that Kenyans are capable of solving their own technological challenges by coming up with machines that are accurate and precise,” he told curious showgoers.

Furaha said the grinding machine minimizes cost of operations because it is programmed to operate on its own, with the coins turning it on and turns off after it has grounded a quantity of grain commensurate with the coins inserted by the customer.

4. Automatic Coffee pulping machine

Apart from the livestock feed miller, Kabunyeria showcased mechanized coffee pulper designed to reduce beans nipping.

Kipleting’s assistant Jonah Simatwo said the Sh30,000 automatic coffee pulping machine pulps coffee of different sizes without adjustments to the pulping drum.

“It is also designed to crash hard foreign materials in the coffee berries, for example stones without damaging the pulper,” Simatwo said.

Simatwo says the machine is fitted with motion bearings for easy and smooth operation.

He says a litre of petrol can power the machine to pulp 20 bags of coffee cherry in just an hour.

7. Modern jiko

Hoteliers, schools and other institutions that have kitchens were not left behind at the show. 

New Iten Micro and Small Enterprises Group, from Elgeyo Marakwet County, showcased a state-of-the-art cooker with two fire places and an oven that can roast meat. Kassim Wako, the head of the Jua Kali Group said the jiko is energy efficient and can produce large amounts of food using small amount of firewood and charcoal. 

Wako said one section of the jiko uses charcoal and another part uses firewood.

“Our jiko is portable and can be used by caterers to cook food outside their premises. A small quantity of firewood can cook a large quantity of food. It enables nyama choma lovers to get thwie delicacy using the oven,” he explained.

Medium and Small Enterprise Authority North Rift coordinator Atton Kogo says the innovations were an indicator that Kenyan innovators were sensitive to the needs of farmers.

“EMSEA is doing its best to ensure SMEs and the jua kali sector is supported and given a condusive environment to maximize their potential,” he says. 

Most of the innovators have established manufacturing plants and workshops in Eldoret to capitalise on the huge market offered by demand for agricultural technologies.