The County government of Makueni has established 63 aggregation centres for collecting, marketing and enforce standards to cushion farmers from exploitation by middlemen.
The area Department of Agriculture Executive Committee Member (ECM) Joyce Mutua said the centres will help smallholder farmers sell their produce at reasonable prices after they register groups to collectively fetch better rates at the aggregation centres spread across the county.
Consequently, the ECM disclosed that the government has found ready market in schools, County Training Technical Institutes (CTTIs) and hospitals in the county that the farmers will access if they meet the minimum standards.
“We have 63 aggregation centres where smallholder’s farmers will take their green grams and other pulses that we produce in huge quantities which have ready market at CTTIs, schools and hospitals,” said Mutua during the launch the launch of Strategy for Smallholder Scale farmers to Access Markets for their produce.
“Also poultry, fruit and vegetables farmers will benefit from the venture. We have done an estimate cost of production per kilogram of green grams will be sh 70. Initially the middlemen paid as low as sh. 40. With the launch of this document, farmers will now be able to access the market directly,” she added.
The ECM further said that the government will also train farmers in an effort to empower them with information that will help in improving their production the farms.
Speaking at the same event, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director Lauren Landis said that their role was to build capacities for counties through farmers to ensure they have right quality of products for markets in the institutions in the area.
While saying Makueni is the second county to launch this strategy after Baringo, Landis said it was imperative for the county to buy food from within.
“Kenya should buy and sell to its own markets. Real our input here is about capacity building of counties on how to get the right quality products for the local institutions,” said Landis.
“It is integral to partner with WFP because their role is centres in providing food and nutrition to the less fortunate in the society. The WFP Director has agreed to initiate mutual benefit between Makueni farmers and WFP for food supply,” Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr said.
During the launch, 93 farmers from across the several Sub counties were invited to attend the event.
By Patrick Nyakundi
