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State seeks Sh25bn for crop value-addition centres

cs

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri has announced that the government in partnership with development partners will raise Sh25 billion to establish value-addition hubs for crops.

The CS said this will first target dairy, avocado and the livestock sectors, in line with the industrialisation pillar of the Big Four agenda.

“We are reaching out to private sector and other partners to help us raise the cash and roll out first end-products of the drive by 2022,” he said.

He said focus was on creating small cottage industries run by organised producer groups under strong cooperatives.

“We want to see many milk producing counties packaging their milk and its by-products for the market to maximise on returns,” he said.

Speaking on the recent avocado export pact between China and Kenya, he said the State would help farmers to meet the export conditions that include peeling and freezing the avocados to negative 30 degrees Celsius and chill them further to negative 18 degrees while in transit.

“We cannot beg to be given lenient terms of compliance because business is a competitive field where if we fail to meet the conditions, another country will. We are duty bound to help our farmers meet the conditions,” he said.