Guayule Kenya

In 2019 Africa Bio Medica Ltd (ABM) imported seeds of 26 varieties of Parthenium argentatum from the US, through the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KePHIS), and began agronomic trials in Laikipia on Ol Maisor Ranch in the western area. Four of the 26 accessions trialled at Ol Maisor have shown themselves to be exceptional in Laikipia. The plants have responded very well to pedological and climatic conditions, the rubber content is high and in line with plants grown in other regions of the globe, with no recourse to irrigation, pesticides or fertilizers (except natural rock phosphate at planting). In our conditions, we believe that cropping can begin 18 months after transplanting and that the plants can be cropped every year after that, for as long as 7 years. This compares with the US, Australia and Southern Europe, where cropping begins after two years and the plant’s life expectancy is the same. In 2022 ABM and Ol Maisor Ranch helped to set up a dedicated production company, Guayule Kenya Limited (GKL), which will be taking over of ABM all operations for the start of this new venture. GKL’s four founders and directors are from ABM, Ol Maisor Ranch, and other commercial ventures. GKL has partnered with a startup that developed an extraction technique (Bio Refinery) using water as a medium for the isolation of polymers from Parthenium argentatum, that yields raw latex. Guatecs has a proprietary technique (patent) to refine and purify natural rubber after extraction and to further process the latex to a point where it can be used in industry. Latex production will eventually contribute to local industry. Parthenium latex lends itself perfectly to the manufacture of medical products (condoms are our main focus for the moment), which are presently manufactured in S.E. Asia and imported into Eastern Africa.