By Cheki abuje
The community- based driven organizations in
the food chain industry have urged county governments to support their
programmes aimed at improving livelihoods.
Speaking in Busia county on the progress of
Non-state actors in empowering local communities against vulnerability to
poverty and food self-reliance, Catherine Amusugtu, the value chain Manager in-charge
at Tangakona Commercial Village said the value chain industry needs both social
and political goodwill at the county level to fully realize its short and long
term objectives.
Catherine pointed out that if the county
government of Busia can support her local organization materially and
immaterially, the commercial village can revolutionize the County’s food
security situations and improve the nutritional value of food taken.
The remarks come at a time when the
agricultural sector in Kenya is shifting its focus from subsistence Agriculture
to Agri-business through chain processes, for income maximization as well as
improved nutrition.
She called on local farmers and consumers of
agricultural products at house hold level to advocate for value-added products
in their day day-today consumption.
Amusugtu disclosed that she has embarked on
products such as cassava chips, crackis, cakes, crisps and high quality flour
to improve the product taste and nutrition. The products are from cassava and
orange fleshed potatoes. At the same time, she challenged Kenyans to plant
staple foods like cassava, millet and potatoes that are climate change
resistant crops.
The commercial village vice chairman Samson Kandira,
however, expressed satisfaction with the strides the group has achieved, adding
that there still exist challenges to be addressed.
He noted that his local Community Based
Organization has an average of 30 acres under potato plantations and more than
20 acres of cassava, adding that Tangakona commercial village is the only one
accredited by Kenya agricultural and livestock organization (KARLO) to supply
certified cassava and potato planting materials in western Kenya, where a 50kg
bag of both potato and cassava cutting sell at Kshs.500.
The organization has urged the County
government of Busia and donors to support their projects financially to address
the challenges facing them.
Said kadira ”Our main market for potato and
cassava cuttings in Busia county are PALWECO, Red Cross and One Acre Fund”. He
added that their annual turn- over is promising a prosperous future in the
industry.
The value addition expert maintains that the agricultural
sector in Kenya is rapidly growing as a result of paradigm shift towards food
chain value addition.
The stakeholders however point out that among
the challenges they face include; establishment of cottage industry that will
enable farmers venture fully into value addition for local and foreign market.
The project will cost Kshs.16million. The
upcoming sugar factories in Busia are also threatening food security in the
county as most farmers are shifting focus to sugarcane farming.
Unstable market and lack of modern facilities
to handle value chain processes, from production to processing to final
product, remains a challenge for the commercial village to expand its
boundaries to the benefit of local population.
The project, through partnership with Kenya
agricultural & livestock Research Organization, Farm Concern International,
Ministry of Agriculture, techno-serve and international potato centre, has
supported more than 5,000 farmers/locals directly and indirectly since 2011.
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