A REPORT OF THE FIELD ATTACHMENT UNDERTAKEN AT UASIN GISHU

MILLERS AND NORTH RIFT DAIRIES FROM 4th JANUARY TO 4th MARCH 2021.

BY:

TARUS K KEVIN

AF/00235/016

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, WITH

IT.

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 DECLARATION
DECLARATION BY THE STUDENT.

I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in

accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these

rules and conduct, I have fully written this report based on truth and cited all activities and duties

that I undertook while on attachment. I therefore declare that this document is legit.

NAME: TARUS K KEVIN

ADM .AF/00235/016

Signature..................................................Date.....................................

DECLARATION BY THE SUPERVISOR.

This attachment report has been submitted with my approval as the company manager

Name: Mr. DENNIS SEREM.

Sign…………………………….. Date…………………………………….

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ABSTRACT
This report is to provide the details of the industrial attachment, a description of all the activities

undertaken during the same, the lessons learnt and challenges faced during the attachment

period. The essence of attachment is to put all the theoretical work done in class into practical

exercise. I was therefore attached at Uasin Gishu millers and North Rift dairies for a period of

eight weeks.

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DEDICATION
I wish to dedicate this work to my family and friends for supporting me throughout my industrial

attachment.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to pay tribute to the management and staff of Uasin Gishu Millers and North Rift Dairies

for offering me a chance to be part of their team and for their unwavering support. Gratitude to

my lecturer and supervisor Mr. Sibiko Kenneth for his tremendous efforts to guide me and

advice on how to improve my skills.

I also want to thank my family and the entire Maseno University department of Agricultural

Economics for their support and prayers not only during my attachment period but throughout

my course.

May God bless you.

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Table of Contents

DECLARATION..............................................................................................................................................2
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................................3
DEDICATION................................................................................................................................................4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................................................5
1.0 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................7
OBJECTIVES OF THE ATTACHMENT..............................................................................................................7
1.2 BENEFITS TO STUDENTS........................................................................................................................8
1.3 EXPERIENCE...........................................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 2...................................................................................................................................................9
2.0 Introduction to Uasin Gishu County......................................................................................................9
County ministry of Agriculture functions.....................................................................................................9
2.2 Organizational structure...................................................................................................................10
CHAPTER 3.................................................................................................................................................11
3.1 ATTACHMENT PROJECT.......................................................................................................................11
POULTY KEEPING.......................................................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 4.................................................................................................................................................13
4.1 ATTACHMENT EXPERIENCE..................................................................................................................13
4.2 PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED....................................................................................................................14
RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR IMPROVEMENT...........................................................14
CHAPTER 5.................................................................................................................................................15
5.1 SUMMARY...........................................................................................................................................15
5.2 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................16

CHAPTER ONE

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
The industrial attachment training is an essential component of the curriculum of Maseno

University. The attachment period is usually maximum of ten weeks, during which the student is

expected to acquire additional practical experience to supplement, their course of study in the

university. They are also exposed to the real world of work and its challenges which will prepare

them towards their future careers. This report is the outcome of the eight weeks practical training

I had at Ngeria Sub-county in Uasin Gishu County.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ATTACHMENT.

By the end of the Industrial attachment period, the trainee should be able to:
 Understand the constraints of working life and functional relationships within and
between organizations
 The trainee should know the importance of human relations and work attitudes
 Develop procedural knowledge towards work processes
 Apply theoretical concepts and school based skills to practice
 Develop work attitudes like curiosity, self-confidence, maturity and self-reliance
 Obtain knowledge of potential careers and develop new areas of interest

1.2 BENEFITS TO STUDENTS

The industrial attachment seeks to offer students a practical translation of the theory they have

been taught. It has also got individual benefit of interacting the university to the industries, hence

brightening the employment chances of the students in the university. Through this attachment, I

have generated a good interpersonal relationship through my interaction with my supervisors and

colleagues. This has assisted me to interact confidently with people irrespective of the position.

1.3 EXPERIENCE
Through my attachment, I have gained some new experiences in conducting assessment of

different value chains in agricultural products, how to tackle different challenges that face

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farmers on different levels and I have also improved my interpersonal skills by interacting with

farmers and also have improved on social life through interaction with the colleagues.

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 CHAPTER 2

2.0 Introduction to Uasin Gishu County.

Uasin Gishu County is headed by The Governor, followed by Deputy Governor, Ward
representatives and County ministers. Devolved County Government system was devolved from
national government of Kenya under the New Constitution 2010.

Uasin Gishu County is located on a plateau and has a cool and temperate climate. The county
borders Trans-Nzioa county to the north, Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo to the east, Kericho
county to the south, Nandi County to the south and Kakamega County to the west.

The county mainly major in Maize farming and wheat as cash crops and rearing of l;ivestock.

Duties of the Governor:

I. The leadership of the County Executive

II. Representing the County
III. Making, approving and implementing County policies
IV. Perform state functions

County ministry of Agriculture functions

 Formulation, implementation and monitoring of agricultural legislations, regulations and
policies
 Supporting agricultural research and promoting technology delivery Facilitating and
representing agricultural state corporations in the government Development,
implementation and coordination of programs in the agricultural sector Regulating and
quality control of inputs, produce and products from the agricultural sector Management
and control of pests and diseases Collecting, maintaining and managing information on
agricultural sector.

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2.1 Introduction to Uasin Gishu County Constituencies.

It has six Divisions namely:

 Ainabkoi
 Kapseret
 Kesses
 Moiben
 Soy
 Turbo

I was attached at Ngeria ward which is in Kesses sub-county.

2.2 Organizational structure

The company is headed by the director then the manager, human resource, procurement

department, accountant, Mill operator and store keeper, sales team.

Human Resource Department

This department carries out the recruitment, rewards management, learning and development,

employee communications and administration.

Finance Department

This department involves financial management including making payments for commodities

needed and receiving payments made to the organization.

Procurement department

I. Ordering and procurement of office material.

II. Stock checking and recording.

Sales department

This department is responsible for selling of commodities produce and taking the consumers

views on those products.

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 CHAPTER 3

3.1 ATTACHMENT PROJECT

While I was on attachment I was involved in activities like sales and marketing of our products

to consumers and also dairy production. The main activities undertaken by Uasin Gishu millers

is to produce maize flour which is affordable to every Kenya and can be easily found in all shops

and supermarkets.

The Company is involved in Financing of Agricultural projects undertaken such as dairy

farming, poultry keeping and large scale maize production.

Other activities undertaken by Uasin Gishu millers include; Production of animal feeds such as

maize germ, educating other producers on how to produce quality products and also educating

local farmers on how to rear livestock so as to increase the level of production.

ACTIVITIES FINANCED BY UASIN GISHU MILLERS

DAIRY PRODUCTION

The major actors of the dairy value chain include input suppliers, service providers, milk

producers, wholesalers and retailers. The suppliers are those agents who supply inputs like

animal feeds.

Constraints under dairy production

 Pests and diseases which results in reduction of the level of production or maybe kill the

livestock.

 Lack of nutritious feed that boost the level of milk production.

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POULTY KEEPING
Poultry value chain link the actors and activities involved in delivering poultry and poultry

products to the final consumer.

Constraints under poultry keeping

 Poultry disease prevalence

 Poor feeds which make the poultry to produce less.

Solution to particular problems

 Bring in more skilled personnel so as to assist in improving the level of production

 Plant more maize or buy then store so as not to stop production

 Better marketing so as to remain relevant in the market

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 CHAPTER FOUR

4.1 ATTACHMENT EXPERIENCE

General activities I underwent on my attachment period include:

 Registering of new customers and milk suppliers.

 Collection of cheques and banking them.

 Making payments to farmers who supplied us with milk.

 Stock check and recording them by inputting them in the system.

 Benchmarking at Tarakwa dairies to see how they were producing their milk products.

 Analyzing poultry dairy and maize mill production.

 Assisting the supervisor on report formulation on different activities undertaken during

the course of the day

4.2 PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED

 Prices of maize flour produced
 Distance factor. Some customers are very far away and easily be reached
 Poor roads. Some roads are very bad and sometimes transporting products to the
customers is very hard.
 The site where we feed our daily records is very hard to use.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR IMPROVEMENT.

 The company should reduce prices of the commodities so as to be able to compete with
other products in the market.

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 The company should buy more vehicles so as to increase the level of coverage of the
products in the market.
 The departmental head should focus on employing employees with technical knowhow in
using computers so as to improve work efficiency.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 SUMMARY
Based on the above report and skills gained, I believe it will help me in future. My work related

learning period at Uasin Gishu millers limited really transformed me into a responsible student

who is capable of completely working in a company. It really gave me experience of the real

working environment. I was able to familiarize myself with new ideas and aspects in the office

and field. Now I have finalized my attachment period, I will be able to balance between theories

I learnt at school with the practical experience that I gained in the field.

The theory that I learnt at school has been transformed to a valuable resource by my time at

Uasin Gishu millers limited. I have also been transformed personally by the challenges that I

faced during my time in the company as well as the responsibilities that I was given during my

time of attachment. I am able to critically analyze situations and make rational decisions. I am

now capable of being a leader and this is acquired through being accountable in some tasks,

which the management delegated to me. As I accepted the responsibility, it meant that I would

devise means and ways to accomplish assigned tasks effectively thereby enhancing my

leadership qualities and skills.

As a student I noticed the way my supervisor addressed the director of the company and other

workers. I am now able to carry out duties without constant supervision and to perfection.

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5.2 Conclusion
During the entire period of my attachment I have equipped myself with working skills as I was

able to associate myself with heads of the company and learned how they manage their work on

daily basis .I was also privileged to meet with the consumers and listened to their views about

our products and how to improve it even more. The experienced I gained in the attachment has

made me a better person in the way I handle responsibilities at working environment.

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