“The future in Boschveld chickens is truly promising,” award winning farmer Molyn said.
After joining the pigad poultry project in 2018 Molyn Masaga has a different story to tell as her life changed completely.
The coming in of Partners for Integrated Growth and Development (pigad) with a new type of road runner called Boschveld was embraced well by Masaga. She became part of the project after paying a commitment fee of 155USD to receive inputs to kick start the egg production business.
She received cement, mash wire and roofing sheets to build a fowl run. After household verification on fowl run construction from pigad officials she received 20 Boschveld with 16 being layers and 4 being cocks, layers feed, feeders and drinkers.
She realized that there was high demand of Boschveld day old chicks (DOCs) and straight away she started hatching eggs. In a period of two months, she had bred 85 day old chicks.
Since then, she has become a shining star by selling more than 1000 DOCs and point of lays in Marondera.
Masaga, is now one of the model farmers in Mahusekwa Village and she is termed a superwoman as she won two prizes for best poultry farmer in 2018 during the District and Provincial Agricultural Show. In August 2019, she won compound fertilizer, a watering can and maize seed at Provincial Agricultural show after being nominated as the overall winner in poultry business.
She firmly said, “The socio-economic potential for this Boschveld chickens was huge and benefiting and those who want to start poultry business, let them roll in Boschveld. The future is truly promising.”
Today she collects 18 fertilized eggs from the Boschveld. She used the profits to diversify into commercial Hyline layers through a savings club initiated by pigad. On this savings club, they saved their profits as a group and purchased 45 DOCs per member in May 2019.
By the time she was visited by delegates from Germany in October 2019, the Hyline layers had started laying, collecting 29-30 days per day.
She is selling at $35 ZWL per crate at the moment. As many farmers struggle with markets, Masaga is failing to meet the market demands of her customers in and out of Marondera. She collects eggs from other households who are in egg business production and sell to her established markets.
With the profits she made from selling eggs and DOCs she has expanded her fowl runs, put tiled floors on her 4 roomed house, bought a perimeter fence, paid school fees for her children and installation of electricity at her homestead.
“We have brought the town life here. Look now! We are healthy from eating eggs and chicken meat and we now have electricity,” acknowledged Masaga.
Masaga’s husband is formally employed in Harare and they are helping each other in purchasing groceries and developing their homestead. “Life is easy when you support each other financially,” she cheerfully said.
According to Masaga, her husband is working in Harare but he is the manager of their poultry business, her 18-year-old son is the secretary responsible for record keeping and she is the treasurer managing the funds from the egg business. The other children are still too young but the 10-year-old also helps in collecting the eggs. Masaga said she has distributed roles among family members after pigad introduced working as a family in the egg business. “As a family we discuss the matters of the business when my husband (manager) comes for weekends,” she said.
Lastly Masaga said that it was farming as a family business that contributed to her success in the business. “Without teamwork you won’t go anywhere,” she added.