A Kenyan software engineer who spent over a decade working in Australia walked away from his tech career to try something entirely different at home, and the pigs on his farm may be better managed than most.
The man behind Emidan Farm says the decision to return to Kenya was partly driven by a desire to find something meaningful and stimulating to do.
His answer came in the form of a piggery, which he launched in 2016 as a pilot project on the farm.
Nearly a decade later, the operation is still running, currently housing 15 pigs, though the journey has not been without its difficulties.
Building internal applications designed specifically for farm’s needs
One of the early hurdles was data management, an area where many small-scale livestock farmers struggle.
Knowing how much each animal eats and drinks, and projecting when it will be ready for market, requires consistent record-keeping that many farms simply do not maintain.
That is where his background proved unexpectedly valuable. Rather than abandoning his engineering skills, he put them to work, building internal applications designed specifically for the farm’s needs.
Capturing daily data for every pig
These tools allow the team to capture daily data for every animal and generate charts that give a clear picture of how the farm is performing at any given time.
The systems he developed have also improved traceability across the farm.
Because each pig has its own feeding and drinking records, the team can monitor individual animals closely and forecast how long each one will remain on the farm before it is ready.
Can software engineer skills help in farming?
In a TikTok video filmed inside the wooden pig shed he spoke directly to the camera while standing beside the pens, sharing his experience with quiet confidence.
”My skills as a software engineer has helped me to achieve that, cause I have been able to create systems and been able to provide internal applications that we use to collect all our data,” he said.
He added that the farm can now maintain “a complete whole set of charts of what’s happening in the day to day running of the farm.”
Kenyan man’s message to software engineers
His message to fellow software engineers was straightforward and direct:
“You can pivot, you can come into farming and you can still apply your skills in here.”
For many Kenyan professionals who have built careers abroad, the idea of returning home to work the land can seem like a step backwards.
