Sharp voices from thousands of layer and deep voices from thick broiler chicken welcomes you to Kagenyi’s poultry farm in Mukono.
A-52-year-old, Kagenyi Fred and a former employee of Nile breweries and Coca Cola Uganda retired from active employment in 2016 at the age of 50years old.
Kagenyi Fred whose terminal benefits from his former employer had been used up in paying Bank loans and School fees for his children who were at the University during that time was struggling in his small pountry farm.
A friend convinced Kagenyi who was already 50 years old to withdraw his NSSF benefits. Kagenyi did as told by his colleague and withdrew his NSSF benefits on 2016 which were UGX 220M.
Kagenyi whose earlier side business was small scale poultry farming devised to invest in poultry by purchasing 6000 chicks from Ken chick.
“Like they say the experience is the best teacher, I decided to invest 70% of my NSSF benefits in poultry farming because I had a wealth of experience in the field of poultry,” Kagenyi Fred said.
Kagenyi invested 70% of his NSSF by constructing an improved poultry structures and adding more chicken to his farm, currently, he is rearing over 8000 chicken with different chicken breeds like croilers, broilers, and layers.
The rest of the benefits (30%) of his NSSF benefits were invested in planting maize and eucalyptus trees in Kyotera, Lakai District. Kagenyi explains that all his investments are inter-dependent on each other. He grows maize as feeds for his chicken, same applies to chicken droppings which he uses as manure for the maize plantation.
Kagenyi produces 80_90 trays of eggs per day and makes monthly returns of Shs7M out of his poultry farm. With his manure from the chicken droppings, his maize plantation grows is flourishing.
Kagenyi, a former employee now employees 10-15 people on his farm and has been able to educate all his children up to the University level.
However, Mr. Kagenyi is being faced with a challenge of thieves who sneak in his poultry structures and steal his chickens at night. With sadness on his, he recalls a nasty incident when thieves stole his 300 chicken at night. According to him, it was the greatest loss he ever encountered in his business.
Fluctuation of prices of eggs and diseases are other threatening challenges that effect Kagenyi’s poultry farm.
“I counter this issue of thieves by hiring a guard then for disease, to ensure cleanliness especially using the disinfectant before and after poultry work. And for prices of eggs, I really have no control over that,” Kangenyi said.
Kangenyi decided to participate in the NSSF friends with benefits competition because he wants to tell the world that experience is the best teacher and that for any investment, it should be informed by someone’s experience, not the returns. He has managed to succeed in poultry because he had enough experience.
Kagenyi’s future prospect is to be among the leading poultry farmers in Uganda with over 20,000 chicken.
Kagenyi gives an example of himself when he had received his money, he first tried maize business but he couldn’t make any returns because he had no experience in that field, and he anticipates to win and use the prize to increase the number of chickens.
Kagenyi is very proud of his former employers not because they employed him for a longer period of time but they were able to save his money with the NSSF for 20 years which he would not have done personally.