Paul had been a teacher for almost 4 years when he made the decision to leave his work and pursue an agribusiness.
Using little funds he had, he constructed buildings on his 50 by 100 plot and purchased an Ayrshire that could yield up to 10 liters of milk after calving.
But eventually, Paul sold the Ayrshire and purchased a Friesian cow, which could yield up to eighteen liters of milk following calving.
Despite the fact that Friesians are heavy feeders, he pointed out that he has been able to make money because he had the proper instruction and guidance from other farmers.
“When you begin something and find that there’s an improvement, you get enough courage to move on with whatever you’ve been doing,” he said.
Paul faced several difficulties as a new farmer, including illnesses.
He said in an interview that at one time his cow developed mastitis, an inflammatory reaction of the udder tissue in the mammary gland, which required costly medical attention.
It is regarded as the most prevalent illness that causes financial losses for the dairy industry because of decreased milk yield and subpar quality
Paul had to replace the shed after diagnosing and treating the cow and realizing that the condition was brought on by a poorly constructed shed.
He had run out of money at this point, so he went to a SACCO for a loan of Ksh 80,000, which he utilized to build a new shed.
By creating his own feeds, Paul also reduced the high expense of feeds.
He blends varying proportions of maize germ, wheat barn, and pollard for his dairy meal, for example, and adds supplements like cottonseed cake, canola, sunflower, and fish meal.
Paul mentioned that he was able to accomplish things with the money he made from his agricultural enterprise that he was not able to do with his teaching pay.
“Dairy it’s quite different compared toa white-collar job, where you have to wait for a salary for 30 days. If you have a challenge of Ksh 1,000 you just carry 20 litres with you and just go to the market and you’ll get the money you need,” he said.
Paul also earns from selling manure and calves.
