Bungoma Institute uses smart agriculture for value addition

Sang’alo Institute of Science and Technology in Kanduyi Constituency started as a veterinary centre but now has been upgraded to smart farming.

It expects to  mint cash.

The institute in Kanduyi, Bungoma county, started in 1924 and after revamping, it offers 54 courses subdivided into 42 technical courses and 12 business courses. Many students are studying agriculture.#

It has about 7,000 students compared with 4,000 in last year; it has 86 trainers from the Teachers Service Commission and 108 on the board of management

In an interview with the Star, principal Rosebella Chukwu said the institute aims to increase income through value-addition in farming and enable students to  start businesses.

The institute has a huge piece of land and is using it for agriculture.

The institute grows sunflowers, maize,  beans, peanuts  and passion fruit. It keeps rabbits and poultry for meat and eggs, engages in beekeeping and grows sought-after vegetables.

It also has fish ponds and the fish is sold n the hospitality department.

The institute also has a dairy farm, rearing cows  for milk, butter, yoghurt, cream and other dairy products.

Chukwu said the institute has invested heavily in peanut and sunflower production, saying peanut butter and oil are used by the school, while the surplus is sold to the neighboring community.

The institute works with partners such as the Kenya Seed Company, Mumias Sugar Company and the  College and Institute of Canada that supports value-addition. It also works with the German Agency for  International Cooperation.

The Canadian institute donated Sh15 million equipment so students can learn and process  peanut butter and sunflower oil.

GIZ donated Sh20 million machinery  to process raw farm produce into blended  products, such as honey.

Sixty acres of sunflowers will be ready in two weeks, then processed into sunflower oil and sold; the surplus is sold within the school.

The institute’s products are not yet on supermarket shelves because it is awaiting certification  from the Kenya Bureau of Standards  (Kebs).

“We are eagerly awaiting Kebs' response and go-ahead, then Kenyans can buy our products," Chukwu said.

She cited apiculture or beekeeping, saying thee school is already producing honey for the school and community.

"We want to produce enough to satisfy market demand,"  the principal said.

Partners donated  an incubator  to hatch 200 trays of eggs. Chicks that are three months old are sold to poultry farms.

Chukwu said that the money earned from selling end products on the farm is used to run developmental programmes, saying the government does not remit development funds to Institutions.

The CEO also said the surplus pays for students who cannot afford it.

Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka on Monday told the Star plans are underway to elevate Sang’alo Institute of Science and Technology to a national polytechnic.

Bungoma does not have a national polytechnic