Ruto’s Agriculture Millions: Inside His Commercial Farms

President William Ruto has made his personal experiences in business a big part of his ‘Hustler’ brand, often describing himself as a chicken seller in reference to some of his early entrepreneurial ventures. Today, he is still heavily involved in the agricultural business among other sectors.

Some of his biggest investments are commercial farms. Here, Business Today looks at two of President William Ruto’s key agribusiness ventures.

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Yegen Farms

Yegen Farms is an agribusiness enterprise based in Sugoi, Uasin Gishu county. It is heavily involved in the poultry space, keeping in line with Ruto’s background. Yegen Farms operates a commercial hatchery and has a partnership with India’s poultry research and breeding firm IndBro – which exports breeding stocks around the world.

Yegen supplies poultry products including eggs to hotels and educational institutions among other organizations. Some of the commercial chicks from the farm have been distributed to beneficiaries through the Joyful Women (JOYWO) women’s organisation in Kenya. The organization is led by First Lady Rachel Ruto, and engages in empowerment initiatives for women across the country, including table-banking and entrepreneurial development.

In response to questions around his wealth, President Ruto has previously stated that he sells eggs worth Ksh1.5 million per day, translating to Ksh547 million per year. He also stated that he rears 200,000 chickens.

Koilel Farms

Koilel Farm Limited was registered on October 2, 2015, with First Lady Rachael Chebet Ruto and President Ruto’s son Nicholas Kipkurgat Ruto among the shareholders. It is a major supplier of maize.

The farm is located at Ruto’s Sugoi land parcel in Uasin Gishu county. It was one of 11 firms investigated in 2018 over controversial sales of maize to the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). The firms were eventually cleared and paid around Ksh200 million.

Koilel Farm supplied 6,000 bags of maize for Ksh19.2 million and told the anti-corruption commission it produced the grains from its 430-acre farm in Uasin Gishu.

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