Ex-IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba taps into large scale silage farming
Former IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba is back in the limelight but this time around, as a large scale farmer.
Growing up in Trans-Nzoia County, maize plantation was what he saw all over. Its tropical climate has made the county evergreen.
Speaking to The Standard, Chiloba says that farming was a lifestyle embedded in his memory and it is the only way he can tell the story of the place he comes from.
He first ventured into silage maize planting in 2019, a year after his exit from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
In 2015, he tried his hand in coffee farming, farmed five acres but the crop failed due to lack of commitment.
He added that coffee is sensitive to everything done in the farm including clearing, ploughing and fertilizer application.
But with the help of a friend who does silage maize planting, Chiloba has grown into a big farmer.
A soil specialist visits his farm every three weeks to collect samples of soil for various tests including fertility rate.
Using the results Chiloba treats his plants accordingly.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s quarantine allowed him to be on the farm for the last threebmonths spending each day on the project.
The former IEBC CEO has also tried his hand in banana production, which he says is doing well, although the soil is saturated.
In 2018, the electoral commission sacked Chiloba having been sent on compulsory leave, prior to the October 26, 2017 repeat presidential elections.