Diaspora Matters

We are almost through with our 2018 investment opportunities book compilation. A hands on book that helps entrepreneurs with crucial information on investment opportunities in Southern Africa with a focus on Zimbabwe. We will cover our entrepreneurial journey featuring Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is a ‘living book’ which covers some of the  top inspiring stories from entrepreneurs from Southern Africa. It covers investment on a macro level, has a section on key trends to follow in 2018 and beyond, it features key skills entrepreneurs need to embrace in 2018 and beyond, an analysis of businesses  that have thrived over the past few years helps entrepreneurs to appreciate the operating environment. Key investment opportunities include Agriculture, Mining, Services Sector, Tourism, ICT, Manufacturing, Real Estate, Transport and others. You get interviews from other entrepreneurs and there are sections on Women owned businesses, Youth owned businesses and we have not forgotten opportunities in rural areas.

Important book for entrepreneurs with no capital but interested in starting business ventures, it is crucial for diasporans interested in relocating back and covers practical issues on relocation and interviews fro others who have successfully relocated. The book is not complete without mentioning source of funds, where to get funding, various options for getting funding and interviews with some who have obtained funding. This should be the business book of the year for Southern Africa. The 250 page book will be available for sale on-line next month, so keep checking the website for your own copy.

Below we feature one of the key topics covered in our book-Agriculture and there is a subsection on Growing Potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes are generally an easy crop to farm due to their low capital intensity and applicability on small tracts of land. There are two broad categories of sweet Potatoes which are as follows:
• The staple type with white flesh and white or purple skin has a high starch and dry matter content.
• The desert flesh and orange skin with a high sugar and beta-carotene content.
Commonly three distinct types of sweet potato available for commercial production include.
1) Orange/ copper skin with orange flesh e.g Beauregard, Hernandez,Beerwah Gold, NC-3, LO-323, Centennial, Darby and Jewel. Zimbabwean orange cultivators such as Beauregard have long, cylindrical to heavy elliptic tubers. They have high beta-carotene content and are fairly quick growers. It may become too big with long growing period.
2) White/cream skin with white/cream flesh colour, has a high yield and a good storage life. It can produce good yield in a relatively short growing period (4months) which is important for cold regions. It produces some long, curved sweet potatoes, especially in sandy soils.
3) Red/Purple skin with cream white flesh e.g : Northern Star, Red Abundance, Rojo Blanco.
Kodow is a very attractive and tasty cultivator when cooked also with a pointed oval tuber. Its tips break of very easily. It requires growing periods of 5 months to produce a good yield.
Selection of a variety to grow should be based on market demand. Varieties are assessed on a number of parameters, including root shape and uniformity, marketable yield, skin and flesh attractiveness and plant vigour.

Climatic requirements:
Temperature
Because sweet potatoes are of a tropical origin, they adapt well to warm climates and grow best during summer. Sweet potatoes are cold sensitive and should not be planted until a danger of frost is past. The optimum temperature to achieve the best growth of sweet potatoes is between 21 and 29 degrees, although they can tolerate low temperatures as low as 18 degree Celsius and as high as 3 degrees Celsius. Storage roots are sensitive to changes in soil temperatures, depending on the stage of root development.

Soil Requirements

Site selection and soil
A well-drained sandy loam is preferred and heavy clay soils should be avoided as they can retard root development, resulting in growth cracks and poor root shape. Lighter soils are more easily washed from the roots at harvest time. Wet season green manure crop with sterile forage sorghum is recommended and should be thoroughly incorporated and decomposed by planting time. Soil pH should be adjusted to about 6,0 by applying lime or dolomite. Rates of 240kg and 400 kg/ha respectively will raise the pH by 0.1 of a unit. The soil should be deep ripped and then disk cultivate to break up any large clods and provide loose soil for hilling of beds. A yearly soil test is recommended to assess soil properties, pH and nutrients levels before ground preparation.

Propagation
Sweet Potatoes are propagated from sprouts or from slips (vine cuttings); sprouts are preferred. Sprouts are grown from plant stock selected for its appearance, freedom from disease and off-types. Approximately 75kg of planting stock sweet potatoes are needed to produce enough sprouts to plant one hectare.

Cutting collection
Tip cuttings of about 30 to 40 cm long with approximately eight nodes are collected from the nursery bed, or the last established planting. Tip cutting should be taken from crops that are old enough to provide material without excessive damage. Avoid “back cuts” as these will have variable maturity and result in significant yield reduction. The lower leaves should be cut away as tearing these off may damage the nodes that will produce the roots. Cuttings can be left under a moist cloth in the shade for a couple of days to promote nodal rooting before planting in the field. At the recommended plant spacing, 330 cuttings are required for a 100m row.

Seedbed production of cuttings
This involves the propagation of cuttings from harvested roots which are placed together in a seedbed. This is an alternative method of producing plant material which requires less labour but does sacrifice a percentage of marketable roots.

Planting cuttings

Cuttings should be planted at an about 45 degrees angle into heaps as this promotes good, even root development. Half of the cutting or three to four nodes should be buried at a spacing of 30cm between plants. Mechanical planters are available and used on a large scale planting but manual planting is widely practiced. This can be as easy as pushing the cutting into the heap with a forked stick. The labour requirement for hand planting is estimated a 32h/ha. Cuttings need to be watered at or immediately after planting. Plantings should be scheduled to allow for progressive fortnightly harvest over the desired production period.

Sprout Production
Sprouts are produced from the conditioned roots in cold frames, heated beds, or field beds of clean sand or fumigated sandy soils. Conditioned roots are covered by more soil sand, though not too much. Four o five weeks are needed to develop strong plants if the soil in the plant has been kept at 23 to 26 degree Celsius. Six to eight weeks may be needed if roots have not been “pre conditioned” Adequate moisture is especially critical to germination of the sprouts and proper root formation on the sprouts.

Panting the sprouts
Sprouts should be taken from the plant beds when 6 to 10 leaves and a strong root system have developed on each one. They are set out into the field as early as possible when the soil has warmed and the risk of frost or a cold weather period has passed. Plants should be spaced 30-38 cm apart in rows that are 1m apart. This requires approximately 14 520 plants per hectare. Management of water is critical to avoid transplant shock.

Soil Preparation
Bed Formation
Sweet potato is grown on raised beds or mounds. This provides the developing roots with loose, friable soil to expand to their potential size and shape without restriction. It allows adequate drainage and provides easy harvesting with a mechanical digger. Mounds should be approximately 30 cm high and 40 cm wide at the base. The main consideration is that developing roots remain under the soil within the heaps. If using a mechanical digger at harvest time it is important to match width of the mound with the width of the digger mouth. Spacing the mounds at 1.5 to 2.0m apart (depending on the tractor width) with a roadway every six rows allows access for boom spray. Mounds are formed using hilling disks, and the base fertiliser can be incorporated during this operation.

Planting period
Planting time is mainly determined by the climate of a location. Sweet potato plants are damaged by light frost and the plants require high temperatures for a period of 4-5 months to yield well. In areas with mild frost, mid-November to mid-December is the best time to plant, and usually the crops get ready for harvest from April to May. Mid November to be the beginning of December is recommended areas with heavy frost and with, harvesting taking place from April to May. It’s common to plant from January to March in frost free areas so that the growing season extends through winter. Cold spells during winter can be a risk depending on the climate of the specific area. In very hot areas, planting should be avoided from November to middle of February as storage root formation is reduced by high temperatures.

Spacing
Optimum plant density on cultivar, but is usually around 40 000 plants per hectare. Rows may vary from 1 to 1.25m apart, in row spacing is usually 25 to 30 cm.

Seeding rate
The number of cuttings required to plant 1ha varies between 30000 and 60000, depending on the specific spacing used.

Fertilisation
The recommended fertiliser rate for sweet potato is based on the crop removal figures. Research (Nutrition monitoring trial, 1992) has shown that this recommendation will produce high yields when used in conjunction with yearly soil nutrient testing and petiole sap nutrient monitoring. Estimated crop removal in KG per ha is:
• 100 kg Nitrogen (N)
• 90 kg Phosphorus (P)
• 200 Kg Potassium (K)
• 200kg Calcium (Ca)
All the phosphorous may be applied in the basal along with 50kg of N and 50kg of K. The remaining 50kg N and 150kg K should be devided into two side dressing at 4 to 6 weeks and at at 10 to twelve weeks from planting. Some calcium will be supplied by the lime or dolomite used to adjust the soil pH and any additional calcium will be supplied by the lime or dolomite used to adjust the soil pH, and any additional calcium may be applied in the basal gypsum. Petiole sap nutrient monitoring is advisable so that the desired nutrient levels for different growth phases can be checked. Any trace elements deficiency would be detected by regular petiole testing, but generally two foliar applications around the time of side dressing should maintain adequate levels. Sprays should include zinc, copper, manganese, iron and boron. A comprehensive 5:15:12 compound fertiliser can cater for the nutrient requirements.

Markets

Export: According to Zimtrade there  is huge potential for exports  to Europe. Demand for sweet potatoes increased by 177% from 2012 to 2016 with figures increasing from $107m to $297 m in  the European  region. With Zimbabwe set to improve economic ties with Europe, this is a great investment opportunity we need to consider for 2018 and beyond. Other countries in Southern Africa should consider exporting opportunities too. According to trademap, Zimbabwe has not exported any sweet potatoes since 2012. The demand for sweet potatoes is largely driven by their  medicinal values and to a lesser extent as food.

Local markets:

According to FAO, 64,127 tonnes of sweet potatoes were produced in 2016  and they are valued at $2million. Sweet potatoes are becoming an important part of diets for rural and urban households. In
urban areas, it is estimated that between 1-7 kg of sweet potatoes are consumed per capita while rural households consume between 3-5 kg of sweet potatoes per capita (Zimbabwe National Vulnerability Assessment Committee,2004). About 11% of sweet potatoes produced in rural areas are consumed in urban areas of the country,thus contributing to household nutrition.The increased demand for sweet potatoes in the country is mainly attributed to the high cost of processed starch foods, such as bread and other confectionery products.

One of the must have skills in 2018 for every entrepreneur is Digital Marketing. Digital marketing expands your market outreach and thereby creating endless opportunities.We therefore urge all of our members and followers to embrace Digital Marketing so that you can sell goods and products to any part of South Africa and beyond. When we conducted carpet rugs making in Durban, we were pleasantly surprised to hear of entrepreneurs selling arts and crafts to overseas clients. This is how it should be-Africans should sell their products and services across the oceans!

Below we feature some of the top business ideas and Opportunities for South Africans and this comes with credit to mytopbusinessideas.

Being a rapidly growing country, the demand for land, houses and other facilities by individuals and businesses is booming. And this makes the real estate sector one of the most lucrative aspects of the South African economy. If you have little capital, you can start dealing in low cost land and housing units. And if your capital is on the high side, you can invest in large expanses of land as well as housing estates.

2. Clothing and textiles

South Africa’s clothing and textile industry is another very lucrative sector. The demand for South Africa-made clothing and textile products is high not only in South Africa, but also in neighboring countries. So, if you have what it takes to break into the textile market, then you can make lots of profit in the long term.

Although there are quite a number of processed food manufacturers in South Africa, the huge demands are still yet to be met. So, there is enough room for new investors in the food processing industry. You have a wide range of products to choose from; fruits and vegetables, juices, animal products, and so on.

4. Agriculture

South Africa has a wide expanse of land that can be utilized for agriculture. With huge demand for agricultural products and adequate workforce, new investors can easily start a business in the agriculture sector. Depending on your capital, you can start on a small scale or on a large scale. With a low capital, you can cultivate selected crops on a small piece of land or rear animals such as fishes or poultry. But if you have larger capital, you can cultivate a wide range of crops and rear animals as well.

5. E-commerce

South Africans are now feeling more comfortable with buying their needed products and services online. So, online retail stores in South Africa are now enjoying more patronage. And chances are you will make lots of profit by starting an online retail business. Even if you are on a low budget, you can start with just one product category and expand from there.

6. Foreign cuisine

So, there is huge profit potential in a restaurant business that offers various foreign cuisines such as Italian delicacies, Chinese delicacies, American delicacies, and so on. In addition, you can still offer local delicacies to cater to South Africans as well.

7. Online marketing

Many South African businesses are trying to establish and improve their online visibility as a way of attracting customers through the internet. In fact, businesses are setting aside a sizeable fraction of their marketing budget for online marketing alone.

This creates huge opportunities for online marketing experts such as SEO consultants, website designers, copywriters, and social media managers. If you have a good background in any aspect of online marketing, you can start a business and make money from your skills and expertise.

8. Freelance writing

In order to cut cost, many individuals and businesses in developed countries like the US and the UK now hire freelance writers from other countries. But South Africa tops the list of their preferred countries because the country is widely regarded as a native English-speaking country.

So, if you have good writing skills, you can make a lot of money by working as a freelance writer for clients from all over the world. Writing assignments you will handle include blog post writing, article writing, press release writing, proposal writing, newsletter writing, copywriting, and so on.

9. Technology products

South Africa is one of Africa’s largest markets for technology products such as PCs, smartphones, and tablet computers. Since these devices are in huge demand in South Africa, new investors can make lots of profit by selling the latest products by global brands such as Apple, Samsung, Sony, and so on. In addition to selling technology products, you can sell their accessories as well. And if you have the expertise, you can render repair services, too.

10. Tourism

South Africa hosts thousands of visitors every year. These people come from various parts of the world to behold South Africa’s rich cultural heritage, beautiful sceneries, lush landscapes, and so on. A smart business move is to offer services that cater to tourists, such as working as a tourist guide.

Rabbit rearing is a profitable business venture, rabbits grow very fast and the market potential is huge. The major challenge in rabbit farming is that of scattered farmers who are not able to supply big orders on a constant basis. As a result few retail shops or hotels are willing to do business with individual rabbit farmers. To solve this problem, ZBIN has partnered with rabbit farmers to form one large company that supplies rabbits to leading retail shops and hotels. More details of this company will be shared in future-for now we share with you a book on rabbit nutrition and feeding.

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ZBIN has members everywhere-from  cities, rural areas, growth points or even diaspora! In 2018 we are going to deliberately cover rural and peri- urban areas. These are the areas which hardly get coverage and yet more than 70% of the population lives there. When it comes to numbers, rural areas do come out top in Zimbabwe. We kick start the process of featuring Mr Gondai Mlambo

Who is Mr Mlambo?

Iam  an upcoming business person, a holder of a bachelor of technology honours degree in Process Engineering plus a partial Diploma in Marketing.

Tell us about your company
Gematechno Investments (pvt) Ltd is the name of the company we are professionals in Industrial Chemicals,Food Additives,pharmaceuticals, Vertinary Products,Agro based chemicals,Packaging & Allied items.

How did the entrepreneurship journey begin?

I started on a very small scale as vendor & distributor or stockist or agent of other manufacturing.
companies.

How many people do you employ?
The company is still in infant stage with myself as the Director and other 5 employees.

Tell us more about Checheche
Checheche is a growth point in Chipinge District under the supervision of Chipinge Town council in Chipinge South Constituency .It is growing rapidly but however  still lacks infrastructure development and the hope is that solving this challenge will unlock plenty of business opportunities at the centre.

Top 5 business Opportunities at Checheche
Agro-processing , Printing, Furniture making , Poultry and Animal feed and Buying and selling clothes

Your understanding of Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is fundamental to business ‘s success in today ‘s modern era of engagement marketing,promoting brands ,products & services online ,social media platforms such as Facebook,twitter,LinkedIn, Whatsapp etc.

Top challenges faced by entrepreneurs at Checheche

1. lack of funding from banks and other financial institutions.

2. Price distortions in the market.

3. Lack of access to foreign currency

Any export activity?
At the moment we are no exporting anything, Iam planning to do so but the challenge is how to get the export licence.

Commercial banks at Checheche
In Checheche we have got 3 banks only
– CBZ Checheche
– Agribank Checheche
– POSB Checheche
_ Some Econet Ecocash Agents

Business Plans for 2018

I am aiming higher and need to grow beyond borders in 2018 & also to satisfy the local market .

Business Role Models

My business Role models are the following
-Startup BiZ Zimbabwe
-ZBIN
-Strive Masiyiwa’s Facebook page

Message for the Ministry responsible for SMEs

The ministry should set up satellite offices in each and every district to monitor and facilitate funding and other non financial assistance to SMEs. The ministry should not concentrate on big and established SMES only but have a deliberate policy to assist up and coming entrepreneurs.

You witnessed it during the last holiday. All hotels in Victoria Falls were fully booked from the 24th to the 4th of January! Give credit to the new administration which is working hard to attract investment and project the country in good light. We expect the next holidays to have record number of tourists ever.

So you would also like to be on Africa’s rich list? You are going to need numbers and if you are not in Nigeria then you should think global and ensure you have numbers on your side! You will need to be tech-savvy too and the good news is there are a lot of opportunities for those who adopt technology to drive their businesses. Below we look at the latest Forbes Magazine list of South Africa’s richest list and pay close attention to the sectors that gave us our top 5 Billionaires. We benchmark the results with Nigeria and Southern Africa.

1.Nicky Oppenheimer: Diamond Mining.

Oppenheimer is on top of the list with a net worth of $7,6 billion. The 72-year-old made his money off the diamond business. He was previously the chairman of diamond mining company, De Beers.

2. Johann Rupert : Luxury Goods

At 67 years-old, Rubert has a net worth of $6,8 billion. He is the chairman of Swiss luxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont, a company known for brands such as Cartier and Montblanc.

3. Koos Bekker: Media

Chairman of Naspers, Koos Bekker makes billions of rands from businesses which include DStv, Multichoice, MNet, and online stores – OLX and Takealot. Bekker has acquired most of his wealth from his media businesses and investments. Bekker is 64 years old and has a net worth of $2,6 billion.

4. Patrice Motsepe: Mining

Motsepe is the youngest person in the top 5, at 55 years old. The billionaire’s source of his income is primarily mining – Patrice is Africa’s first billionaire. He is the founder of African Rainbow Minerals and the owner and president of soccer club Mamelodi Sundowns. Motsepe has a net worth of $1,9 billion.

5. Allan Gray: Consulting

Gray’s source of income is money management. He founded investment management firm, Allan Gray Limited in 1973. Gray has a net worth of $1,7 billion.

Key Points:

1. Mining dominates the rich list

2. You may need to know, so who provided consultancy to the mining sector in various investment work? Possibly helps t explain the presence of Allan Gray at No 5.

3. The future Is Technology driven- Future billionaires will come from the internet of doing things-closely watch the gentleman on No 3, Mr Koos Bekker. Does Amazon and Facebook ring a bell?

4. If the Zimbabwean Tycoon Mr Strive Masiyiwa was South African-he would have been the third richest man. Interestingly ahead of DSTV owner Mr Koos Bekker. The Zimbabwean with a networth of $2.8bn should be benchmarked with Mr Koos to find who performs better.

5. Mr Motsepe is the richest Black South African but does not come close to Mr Masiyiwa and so when it comes to Southern Africa, the richest person is Mr Masiyiwa.

6. You are not likely to be a billionaire if you concentrate operations in your country of birth only. SA mining operations have been across Africa, DSTV is an African household name, Strive has expanded his business empire across the continent. The richest man in Africa, Mr Dangote has numbers on his side with Nigeria having an estimated total population of 190 million. If you would like to make into the billionaires league then closely look at some of the biggest markets such as West Africa (Nigeria), East Africa (Kenya), North Africa (Ethiopia, Egypt and Tunisia).

For youngsters entering the entrepreneurship route, the future billions are not in diamond mining, the new diamonds for Africa are going to be found in technology–the internet of doing things! E-Commerce is the new diamond and you have to critically look at  the big markets explained on point 6. The population of Africa is growing and E-commerce is slowly picking up providing gaps for start ups and you too can enter the field! The fact that Strive has moved to Kwese Tv clearly shows the direction the continent is headed….revise your strategies towards the future.

Asante Sana

ZBIN is on a drive to create as many companies as possible. We like formalisation-in business you open more opportunities when you are formal. We have assisted the formation of companies across the region…Botswana, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa. The drive in 2018 is to make them a success!

In Zimbabwe, we are converting all ZBIN WhatsApp Groups into separate companies. Most of these groups have been in existence for more than 3 years, most of the members know each other-some have met and they are always talking to each other in the groups.
Rather than continuing to be mere discussion platforms, we have a drive to make these groups formal. Members come together and register companies. Companies that help employ some of them, help create an extra income for some of them. Companies that are formed as a result of seeing gaps on the markets.

The Rabbit Company
Take for example the rabbit industry-It is made up mostly of scattered individual farmers rearing rabbits for sale. The farming model can be described as subsistence and few are willing to expand into commercial farming due to market limitations. So the GAP here is Access to Markets! This is our third forum objective and we are very passionate about Access to Markets.

To solve the Access to Markets issue, farmers have come together to form a company that will help to market rabbits. Retail shops and hotels are not willing to work with individual farmers who bring small quantities of rabbits. They want a constant supply and what is more? They want to work with registered companies with track records of constant delivery of rabbits.
Therefore working as a group will bring economies of scale benefits, it will specifically mean farmers negotiating formally as a registered entity. Come together agree on quantity and quality standards and help to promote rabbit meat, rabbit rearing and improve incomes of members and the society at large.

ZBIN Conducts a meeting
So yesterday we coordinated the company registration meeting at our nice offices in Monavale. We had already shared in the group the vision and operational steps we need to take inorder to move forward.
The meeting went well, members contributing to discussions carrying out a SWOT and PESTEL Analysis…bottom line being huge opportunities exist for the rabbit industry and there is room for more players to come. Typical of the SME sector, there is no leading national brand on Rabbits. How will members benefit? We listed down on the board what had already been discussed, expanding the points already discussed on the group and adding a few more.

In comes the youth
One of the members had earlier indicated that he was running late and he indeed came late after we had deliberated on most of the issues on our agenda.

Now this young member is a recent university graduate and had done extensive research, had a database of rabbit farmers and he had interesting points which took us by surprise. Of course we had discussed E-commerce and regional expansion opportunities. You all know ZBIN isn’t it? We rarely design products with Zimbabwe in mind only. Our global thinking outlook forces us to design products or programmes with South Africa, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana in mind.
Lets get back to what the youngster did-So this youngster surprised everyone with some brilliant innovations we had not included on the agenda. Amazing stuff from him! Of course we are an innovative forum, our members are innovative too but what the youngster brought completely over turned the tables!

Lessons learnt
Our youngsters are brimming with innovations, if you do not include youths in the design of programmes then you are missing the mark. If the design team of your project is not diverse then you are not going to come with the best design.
These youths do not have experience but they are not short on innovation! They just need support and guidance and they will do wonders. Youths need to be given space and innovate with the older generation providing mentorship and this is a lesson to most companies or organisations.

Are you giving youths a voice? On your board do you have youths? On your management team…do youths provide input? On your current strategy, did you allow youths to have a say or review? If you did not, then those that do will have a competitive advantage over you.

In future analysis of competitors and designing strategies to outwit competitors is going to be easy. Analyse the team at the top….does the team include youths? If the company does not have any youths at the top then its likely to be thinking of old models, there is likely to be little innovation or resistance to innovation. Therefore to the small company in Makokoba, to the medium scale company in Rimuka and the big corporate in Southerton here is free message-ignore youths at your own peril!

So ZBIN Rabbit company is going to be headed by this young graduate. He has a lot of energy, a lot of innovations but lacks experience -the good thing though is the forum has a lot of professionals right from the board. We draw a lot of expertise from locals, the diaspora and foreign nationals as well. We will give him ample support and allow him to shine and showcase what Zimbabwean youths have to offer. The verdict will be out by end of year.

The problem of school furniture availability is a big one in Africa especially in poor rural schools. School students are therefore forced to sit on the ground and this affects their morale and teachers as well. To help solve this problems, Africa need to use bamboo trees to develop school furniture. Schools or local communities can grow the bamboo trees which are easy to grow. Local communities need to be taught how to make simple school furniture and they can even build classrooms as well.

So opportunities exist for schools, clinics, libraries, churches and homes. Below we show you some of the innovations that can be done by bamboo trees as well as a manual for growing bamboo trees.

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Originally from Africa and bred in South America, Brachiaria grass is gaining popularity among cattle farmers in Kenya. The grass is credited with helping to revolutionalize the Brazilian beef industry. The grass has found its way to Africa, and a ready home in Kenya.
Sustainable fodder production is a constant problem facing dairy and beef farmers in Kenya. This is particularly severe in the dry season when traditional fodder grasses, like Napier cannot cope and farmers are left with no fodder for their animals. Hence, there has been continuous search for fodder grasses to ensure farmers have a consistent supply of high quality fodder for their animals, even during the dry season. Brachiaria is a grass native to Africa and other tropical regions. Now, the grass has returned to Africa, including Kenya. Two varieties of Brachiaria known as Mulato and Mulato II, are tolerant to drought, recover fast after grazing, show high plant vigour, give good quality forage and are tasty to the animals.
About Mulato
Brachiaria cv. Mulato and Mulato II are a result of breeding by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). According to Dr. Brigitte Maass, a forage scientist with CIAT in Kenya, Brachiaria cv. Mulato and cv. Mulato II are hybrids which have resulted from crosses involving 3 species; Brachiaria brizantha, B. decumbens and B. ruziziensis. The last one is used as a bridge. The result is a hybrid that is apomictic, meaning that the seeds produced are true breeds (their genes do not change). In reality, they are like clones of mother plant. This is an ideal situation that is not common with many crops and forages because farmers will not lose the vigor of the plant.
Growing Mulato
Mulato grows in well-drained soils of medium to high fertility with pH 5-8. Like Napier grass, it responds well to well-matured manure. It is drought tolerant and has potential to grow well in relatively drier areas of Western Kenya with mean annual rainfall of not less than 700 mm and mean daily temperatures higher than 30ᵒC. Trials conducted by KARI-Marigat show that the grass does well under irrigation in arid and semi arid areas, and under rain-fed conditions in the transitional zones.
Mulato Brachiaria is best propagated by seeds, though it can also be planted from vegetative material. Seed is the most appropriate mode of establishment for farmers who want to plant large plots of the grass. At the moment, since the seed is not yet readily available locally, farmers are advised to use vegetative propagation by cuttings. When using seed, a farmer needs 2.5-3kgs per acre. Seed is sown at the onset of rains in well-tilled seedbeds. An important feature of the Mulato Brachiaria is that its stems are capable of rooting when they come into contact with moist soil especially cause by trampling of animals. Mulato II performs very well not only in grazed systems, but also in cut and carry system.
Farmers are advised to carry out routine top dressing after every cutting or grazing; using well-matured compost, farm yard manure and rock phosphate. The grass has thick leaves, which makes it difficult for weeds to thrive.
Use of Brachiaria grass
Mulato Brachiaria can be grazed or cut and fed to animals in stalls and feedlots. Where animals graze, the duration depends on the number of animals. Sufficient time must be given to a pasture to grow back after intensive grazing. Rotational grazing will give grass time to re-grow. Where farmers cut and carry to feed the animals, the grass is ready for the next cut in about 45-50 days during the rainy season. At this stage, the grass has higher nutrient content, especially protein, than Napier.
Mulato Brachiaria has high production capacity for biomass; therefore, it is a good alternative for making silage and hay for use during the dry season. Its production and nutrient content depend on soil fertility and its management, as well as the stage of harvesting.
Farmers who have planted and used this fodder grass are impressed by its performance. Research at KARI-Kakamega and KARI-Marigat indicates that the grass holds huge potential for the dairy and beef industry in Kenya, especially in the drier areas where Napier grass does not do very well and in areas affected by the Napier stunt disease. CIAT, ICIPE and partners are exploring private partnerships to make the seed commercially available in Kenya, at an affordable price for farmers.
Brachiaria finds a home in the Push-pull system
Scientists at ICIPE, led by Prof. Zeyaur R. Khan developed Push-Pull to respond to the problem of stem borers and Striga weed in maize. The push-pull system uses Desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum), planted between rows of maize, to push the stemborer moths out of the maize field. Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is planted around the maize plot to ensure that the stem borers are not able to develop to maturity. After repeated trials with different kinds of legumes ICIPE scientists found that Desmodium is more effective than other legumes in reducing striga and increasing maize yields, because it has the specific phytochemical that prevents Striga from growing longer into the maize plant.
Apart from helping farmers deal with pests, the system provides a source of fodder for cows, goats and sheep, particularly Desmodium as a protein supplement.
Wider adaptation
As the uptake of push-pull continues to increase and spread to different agro-ecologies, particularly drier areas where sorghum and finger millet thrive, a drought tolerant trap alternative to Napier grass and intercrop alternative to Desmodium is needed. This is where Brachiaria finds its place in the push-pull system. Trials conducted by ICIPE and partners show that Brachiaria cv. Mulato is tolerant to drought conditions of up to 3 months and temperatures of more than 30ᵒC. To accommodate Brachiaria, slight adjustments are made onto the system. Four rows of Mulato II are planted instead of 3 rows of Napier grass. Farmers involved in the trials get Mulato II seeds from ICIPE.

Growing popularity
Unlike Napier grass, Mulato Brachiaria does not have stinging hairs, making it easy to cut and carry. This is a quality that makes the grass attractive to farmers who use the push-pull technology to control stem borer and Striga and as a way of growing fodder for their animals.