Festus Katana is a smallholder farmer from Mariani commercial village who rears indigenous poultry. He has been practicing poultry farming for 5 years now, since 2012. However; due to inadequate market information his poultry fetched low prices. Most of his buyers were other villagers who bought chicken at very low prices ranging from Kshs 250 – Kshs 300.Through Farm Concern International (FCI) intervention of conducting village business forums under Pwani Commercial Villages for Markets programme, Mr. Festus was able to sell 15 indigenous chicken worth Kshs 6,000 at an average price of Kshs 400 benefiting from a 33% - 60% price increment. With the proceeds from this sale, Mr. Festus was able to buy food for his family and pay a balance of his child’s school fees.

Mr. Festus is now a beneficiary of capacity building trainings on market-led production, good agronomic practices, business skills and market linkages by Farm Concern International. He is now personally preaching commercialization to his neighbours.