In 2017, two Kenyan Agri-printers came together to establish an irrigation systems firm to serve small to medium-scale commercial farmers in Kenya. This was by providing tailored professional irrigation systems set up solutions that were within these farmers’ budgets, while improving the clients’ overall yield, and income from farming. The motivation to focus on this niche was inspired by the presence of large international irrigation service providers in the country, whose clientele were the large ornamental, cereal, and vegetable growers. Smaller growers had to fend for themselves because they were never a priority for these large corporates.
The other objective was to do further by offering expert irrigation, greenhouse, water pumps, and dam lining expertise to this small scale to medium-scale commercial farmers, who had no professional entity to consult for such. This was through physical site visits to carry out assessments, provide advice, and carry out irrigation project reviews afterward. And so, Grekkon Limited – Irrigation Hub was born. It was headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, and in April 2018, Grekkon Limited opened the Eldoret irrigation hub along Kapsabet road in the Kaburwa area within Eldoret municipality.
In mid-2021, the company opened a sub-branch in Eldoret town’s central business district. This is to serve farmers picking none bulky items such as irrigation fittings and accessories. The new sub-branch is located in Sugarland plaza, along Oloo street.
The Eldoret offices serve growers in; Nandi, UsainGishu, Bungoma, TransNzoia, West Pokot, Turkana, Elgeyo Marakwet, and Baringo counties. These counties have varying climatic conditions and weather patterns. Those in the south are green with predictable rain patterns, hose in the north are arid and semi-arid locations.
Innovation
In this journey, Grekkon Limited in its innovation became the first irrigation systems company in eastern Africa to introduce the rain hose irrigation system. This new product solved many irrigation challenges for commercial vegetable and corn farmers. The company is the market leader in the research and commercialization of natural solar dryers, each unit designed to meet the product or market drying requirements. Today, Greek Limited is the largest supplier of natural solar dryers in western Kenya, and the north rift regions.
Team
Greek Limited’s resounding success is largely due to its team of field professionals in Eldoret who provide engineering, commercial, and technical services. In a first in the market, the company organizes ‘training days’ in various regions of the counties where growers come to learn of new and existing technologies. This knowledge-sharing module has proved effective in addressing basic irrigation challenges that farmers go through and creating trust in the company’s expertise.
The Future
With a growing number of medium-scale farmers living in the cities, but farming in the upcountry, the need to create a web-based irrigation monitoring system is more pronounced than ever. Greek Limited’s IT team is developing a gadget responsive tool that enables farmers to irrigate and fertilize (through fertigation) their farms remotely. It also works s a moisture monitoring tool to alert growers when crop moisture levels fall below normal levels.
Set for launch in early 2022, this innovative irrigation system will manage irrigation labor costs while ensuring timely delivery of water to crops.
