Employment life in the media industry has in the recent past proved to be a delicate path to tread and calls for utmost preparation and willingness to jump into any career, in case an axe befell you.
In the case of veteran journalist, Odeo Sirari, his journey in the newsroom spans 17 years covering news across various Media Houses from Royal Media Services (RMS), Radio Africa Group, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and recently the Standard Group Limited.
His recent employment role involved working as a program editor for KTN News - a position where he worked for four years.
He, however, did not envision that he would be laid off on January 17, 2023, as the company was facing a cash crunch in unprecedented times.
Despite the setback, Sirari noted that he had initiated a fallback plan which was in progress as he received the news.
While revealing his journey post-employment era on Maisha ya Mkulima Youtube Channel (Life of a Farmer), he detailed how his life changed from the newsroom to the farm.
"I have been preparing for this eventuality for a long time, with my first fallback plan being farming. I was doing farming as a side hustle alongside my work. However, it proved to be difficult owing to the schedule," he noted.
Sirari pointed out that juggling between his office work and farming proved to be difficult at the time as he could not dedicate all his time to either venture.
"I have incurred losses for the time I was away from my ten-acre farm. I have now dedicated 80 percent of my time to the farm.
"Currently, we have been blessed to have a spring that doesn't dry up hence we are doing irrigation through farrowing and flooding. I have also invested in a high-performance micro-irrigation device," he affirmed.
He has invested in sugarcane farming, green maize farming, cabbage farming, chicken rearing, and dairy farming and also practices brick masonry from time to time.
