Kevin Kibet: Farming for the People, Planet and Profit

To a selected crop of young Kenyans, farming is painted in lacklustre colours; essentially as an occupation with size and profit limitations. More so, some see it as a way of life reserved for residents in rural settlements. Because of this perception, many youths from rural areas leave behind the green gold of farmlands in the countryside to chase the promises of paper gold from white-collar or informal jobs in urban areas like Nairobi. But for Kevin Kibet Mochama, the opposite is true. 

Unlike some college students born and raised in Nairobi, Kevin knew that he wanted to pursue a career in farming. This decision to charter what would seem to outsiders as an unlikely pathway was founded on experiences in his younger years. Whenever the school holidays drew near, Kevin’s parents made plans to have him visit his grandparents in Nandi Hills. It wasn’t so much a holiday, but rather an avenue for Kevin to acquire basic life skills by lending a helping hand on his grandparents’ farm. Among the things he saw and learned was how much time and effort went into farming, from planting season to harvesting periods. Inadvertently, his interest in working with soil and seedlings grew.  

Though it wasn’t until the start of his final year at Strathmore University that Kevin began laying down the groundwork for his career in farming. Once he graduated, he packed his bags and moved to Kericho.  

Growing Strong

From the jump, his choice proved to be more strenuous than he’d imagined – at least mentally. He was immersed in the world of mundane cultivation where farmers were only planting everyday crops. These included legacy cash crops and common food crops like maize and beans; he decided that the lack of creativity and experimentation in agricultural focus was what was inevitably contributing to farmers’ poverty. While the crops were grown on different scales, they were inherently not yielding significant returns on the farmers’ investments. It upset him deeply but motivated him to seize the opportunity to help farmers transform their work into profitable ventures.  

Even though he had entered the agribusiness sector with the intention of farming simply and solo, his newfound mission took on an entrepreneurial arc and therefore needed both financial and strategic support. So, in 2018 he onboarded three friends with the right skill set to invest, support operations, and eventually scale up the business. These were the structures that eventually led to the establishment of FarmMoja. 

Kevin and his team decided to farm avocado as their pioneer crop. This was a tactical decision that was informed by the fruit’s demand at the time, and how it guaranteed avocado farmers a handsome return. It was also set apart from the then-common crops in Kericho. 

Scaling Up

Next was to recruit farmers to the FarmMoja Community. They reached out to several farmers and succeeded in enlisting over 100 farmers into their first cohort. The farmers were then issued with avocado seedlings and trained on sustainable farming practices. 

This initiative unlocked the door to great opportunities for FarmMoja. They were able to join elevation communities and incubators, and in 2018 they pitched for the annual Anzisha Prize by Africa Leadership Academy and Mastercard Foundation. Kevin’s passion was evident in his application, and he was among the finalists who were empowered with the necessary entrepreneurial skills.  

FarmMoja’s journey wasn’t without its occasional disruptions. In the same year, for instance, they had just distributed 5,000 avocado seedlings to several farmers when a severe drought struck the Kipkelion region of Kericho and they lost 80% of the seedlings. This whetted them to the gravity of climate as the maker and breaker of agriculture. They endeavoured to transform the avocado business not only for profits but also for bio-ecological importance. Additionally, they set up irrigation programmes that would be a financial safety net in the wake of climate reality.   

By 2021, FarmMoja was on a roll and even managed to raise more capital. With funding from a leading financial institution, Farm Moja increased its financial capacity to absorb farmers. And the FarmMoja community rose to almost 1,000 members. 

In the same year, Kevin extended FarmMoja to Narok. As of October 2022, FarmMoja operates in Kericho, Narok, Nakuru, Nandi, Uasin Gishu, Bomet and Kisumu counties.  

Kevin looks at farming holistically; as an investment capable of impacting economies and not a reserve of rural residents. He advises that large-scale farming is the most sustainable, as it’s easy on the cost of production. 

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