This article is part of a new segment we are calling ‘From the Source’. We will be interviewing normal people who have built successful businesses and are still actively looking to expand. In this week’s article we have interviewed Ms Mwansa Bwalya, a farmer born and raised in Luanshya (near Ndola). She is a big believer that anyone can enter the business with enough consistency and financial discipline. In this article we will follow her story and detail her instructions on how to be a successful Chicken breeder in Zambia.
Ms Bwalya’s Story
10 years ago Mwansa Bwalya graduated from Luanshya Central and was accepted as a student at Copperbelt University (CBU). She had inherited a small piece of land not too far from the town centre and embarked upon using the land to build a broiler breeding business. Initially the income was designed as something that could be used to supplement her studies as she did not initially plan on full time farming. Then she saw the opportunity:
“In food you cannot go wrong because the demand will always be guaranteed. It is of course the one thing we can all not go without” said Mwansa
She had saved up two months of income at the Agricultural Supply shop where she worked after spending her days monitoring the items that chicken farmers would regularly purchase, giving her the structure she used to plan what she needed to run her own farm one day. Today she has over 7,500 broilers with the estimated total value of K200,000 in annual revenue. She produces an estimated 50 trays of eggs per day, pointing out quite clearly that this is the most lucrative and consistent part of the business.
How it Started and Issues You May Face
Ms Bwalya started her business with K2000 saved up to buy 80 broilers (K3 each) and 9 bags of feed (K126 each). This came to a total of K240 for the chicks and K1334 for the feed coming to a total of K1574 for the business. This was the heaviest investment she has made in the business since the remainder of the costs and the wages were covered by her profits. She claims the biggest issue when starting up is the scarcity of electricity in her area. While Zesco is connected they often experience power cuts and have had to result in using alternative methods to produce energy, such as coal or using chargeable lamps. While water would normally be an issue as well, Mwansa is lucky to be located near a stream which makes it easier to supply water.
The Importance of Personal Finance
When Mwansa first started her business it was booming. She decided to reward herself with lavish wigs and expensive accessories while she was still a student in Kitwe. By 2015-16 when she was graduating she found that her business was on its knees and had not grown past her initial investment. Though she was consistent with her trips to the farm and more attentive it was clear something needed to change.
“This taught me a big lesson in personal finance as I knew I had to control my spending for my business to expand. That’s why I put myself on a salary, to separate personal and business spending”
From then on her business expanded beyond her control. Mwansa kept strict controls of all spending using a detailed accounting system. She changed her attitude towards her working, choosing to regularly visit the farm unannounced so the workers are constantly on guard. This small change helped increase her workers productivity, as she started hiring high cost but loyal workers who would be accountable in the high turnover business of layers. This helped her business boom from the 80 broilers in 2016 to 7500 different varieties of broilers and layers in 2020.
(Image : Ms Bwalya at her farm earlier this month)
Opportunity in the Broiler Industry
According to the Abridged earning report of the Zambeef group (one of the largest purchasers of chickens from local producers) the price for broiles increased by an average 37% over the last year. This comes largely as a result of the disruption to the African supply chain caused by COVID-19. Recently farmers in North Western provinces began distributing their produce in neighbouring Congo and Angola. The high export demand is becoming increasingly appealing to Zambian producers due to the comparatively higher prices in more populous economies.
One of the biggest issues with farming is location. Mwansa noted for example the benefit she has over farmers in the more competitive Lusaka marketplace where a tray of eggs is valued K43 compared to the Ndola average of K48. With increasing levels of urbanization in Zambia’s large cities it is surely a worthwhile opportunity when looking for a business to start.
You can also find links to useful farming finance courses here.