Kirinyaga plans Sh100m tomato processing plant

Kirinyaga County is set to build a Sh100 million tomato processing factory to boost incomes for farmers from the region.

Governor Anne Waiguru said the factory will be constructed at Kangai village in Mwea Constituency where tomatoes are grown in large scale.

She announced that the money was available and the construction work would soon kick off.

Speaking yesterday at Ndaba, the governor observed that for decades hundreds of farmers suffer when there is glut.

"Farmers' produce goes to waste when there is a glut and that is why we want this factory to be built to resolve this problem. Tomatoes will be processed into juice which will be sold at good prices to ensure that our farmers get profit," she added.

Accompanied by former Mwea Member of Parliament Peter Gitau, who has joined her political camp, the governor said her county was among the leading tomato producers nationally and the project would help farmers increase their incomes.

She said that the intervention was necessitated by farmers grievances as they sought a solution to minimise their post-harves loses.

At the same time, Ms Waiguru revealed that Sh45million bursaries for needy secondary and college students had been released.

She said that her government was committed to ensuring that no student dropped out of school due to lack of fees.

"My government is determined to ensure that every child access education and that is the reason why we allocate bursaries every financial year," she added.