• The cold store will help farmers make more money from their produce by minimizing the amount of harvests that go to waste.
• It will also give farmers time to negotiate for better prices from buyers.
A group of investors from Germany will set up a Sh3.3 million solar cold plant in Murang'a to enable farmers preserve their produce.
The plant, which will be established in Maragua, will reduce post-harvest losses, which has been a big problem facing farmers in the region.
It will also give farmers time to source for the market and negotiate for better prices, cushioning them from brokers who buy their produce at throwaway prices.
Rachel Blair, a director at Cremer Company, on Thursday said the plant will use solar energy to make it cost effective for farmers and ensure it does not shut down because of power rationing.
“We have seen how many farmers sell their produce at very low prices because if they do not, their harvests will go bad in the farms,” Blair said.
Blair said her company has been trying to establish a solar powered cold store for close to a decade and has just succeeded.
She said the company decided to pilot the cold store in Murang’a to encourage farmers to farm more while earning the money they deserve.
“This innovation will go a long way in helping local farmers make more money out of their toil and in the development of the agricultural sector in the country,” she added.
Blair urged the government to invest in such technologies to empower farmers and boost food security.
Maragua and Kandara areas are known for intensive horticulture farming that includes mangoes, French beans and vegetables.
In the semi-arid area of Kambiti, more than 4,500 small-scale farmers have supported their families through farms as small as a quarter of an acre.
The farmers practice conservation agriculture that limits the amount of water used for irrigation, while making their soils fertile.
Mango farmers have been pleading with the national and county governments to establish a fruit processing plant to regulate prices and ensure their produce does not go to waste.
The investors spoke while touring an organic farm in Manyatta village, Maragua, belonging to retired teacher John Kamande.
Kamande said he ventured into organic farming after retiring from his teaching profession in 2015.
His farm has become a demonstration site, attracting farmers from as far as Uganda.
Kamande who practices mixed farming, said farming has given him the opportunity to travel wide to broaden his skills.