A farmer in Tharaka Nithi County has established a cottage industry in Maara Sub County where he produces cooking oil, fuel and cattle feed from avocados.
Recentry Hundreds of visitors thronged, Edward Mutegi’s stand during Tharaka Nithi innovation fair at Chuka Stadium eager to learn how he was fairing.
Mutegi said he first got the idea of adding value to avocados after realizing that there was a lot of waste especially when middlemen visit his area to purchase the fruit whenever it is in season.
“Once ripe, avocados have a short life span and most of them go to waste but I realized that I could extract vital products from them,” he said.
He said due to lack of resources he operates at domestic level selling his produce to fellow farmers but was hopeful that the county government could take up his innovation so that the he could operate at an industrial scale.
He thanked the county government for coming up with the innovation fair, saying the organizers had also introduced him to Kenya Industrial Property Institute (KIPI) officials who will help him copyright his patent.
The fair’s theme was Cohesion through Innovation, in line with Tharaka Nithi County’s logo of being the land of value addition.
The winners of the exhibition fair will represent Tharaka Nithi in inter counties as well as national exhibitions. Among the key partners are the Kenya Industrial Estates and financial institutions.
By Daniel Kirui/Kenneth Marangu
