Jacqueline Kithinji’s foray into agribusiness began with the cultivation of chilies; however, she faced initial setbacks that hindered her success.
Undeterred by this disappointment, she opted to lease a plot of land and shifted her focus to onion farming.
Her efforts yielded a substantial harvest, allowing her to earn a significant profit during her first market outing, as the market had not yet become saturated.
Unfortunately, by the time of her second harvest, the influx of onions from Tanzania led to a decrease in prices.
This situation prompted Kithinji to pursue her idea of exploring value addition in her business.
“You would go to the market and they would tell you, we are now buying from Tanzania. I had thought of value addition before but I had not taken it up, I had not gotten the push,” she said.
She conducted research and, utilizing the feedback received, proceeded to develop various products derived from onions.
“I did research and asked people if there was an onion product served in a different way would you go for it and they were like yeah, we are tied of tearing. It gave me the motivation,” Kithinji said.
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Kithinji additionally registered for a training program focused on value addition at Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI).
“The training was a wake-up call, look at the economic growth for you and the community the shelf life of the product, job creation and the branding of the product,” she said.
Kithinji produces a variety of onion-based products, including onion flakes, onion powder, onion paste, onion pickles, onion juice, and onion jam.
While she employs two individuals, the workforce expands during production periods.
Kithinji also highlighted several challenges faced in managing her small business, notably the insufficient initial capital and the difficulties associated with obtaining loans, which she identified as significant obstacles.
“Sometimes you find it’s not useful. When I am talking about production and you want to give me Ksh 200,000 or Ksh 150,000, that will not help me,” she said.
Additional challenges consist of customers questioning the quality of her products, a situation she attributes to insufficient public awareness.
“People ask if you cut onions, are they not poisonous. But I tell them no, I have gone through standards
“After all the formulations I had to go through KIRDI, it’s not just something that you do in the house, it’s a product that we look into the international market,” she said.
