Murang'a residents get posho mills to cut maize flour cost

About 200 Murang’a residents have benefited from five posho mills from Ahadi Kenya Trust and Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency  aimed at empowering them to beat the high cost of living.

The residents who are members of five youth and women empowerment groups also received 50 90kg bags of maize to help them start the business of selling maize flour in the villages.

Ahadi Kenya CEO Stanley Kamau said the project will help the members access cheap maize flour and complement the government’s efforts to provide low cost maize meal.

The project, he said, will go far in supporting the poor who are struggling to stay afloat with the sky-rocketing cost of living.

“We have requested these groups to consider supporting the disabled, poor and orphans by not charging them for milling their maize,” he said in Murang’a town on Saturday while issuing the posho mills to the beneficiaries.

The members will be trained on how to efficiently use the machines and ensure they last for at least a decade.

Kamau urged them to disregard politicians who are politicking with the issue of the high cost of living without offering solutions.

“We are here to offer solutions and support the government in its efforts to reduce cost of living. This programme will ensure members of the community have food, an income and are able to educate their children,” he said.

TIKA Country director Eyup Yavuz Umuhu said the posho mills are equipped with electricity and diesel engines and all standard accessories.

They will be able to process maize and other grains such as sorghum and millet, and help supplement residents’ nutrition. The groups also received water dispensers.

The project aims at providing the groups with a means of generating income, create a circle of economy within the maize value chain.

It also hopes to create a sustainable market for maize and other grains and contribute towards attainment of the Big Four agenda on food security and creation of jobs.

“We hope the project will significantly empower benefiting groups and give them an alternative source of income,” he said.

TIKA pitched camp in the country 10 years ago and has implemented over 200 projects. It has a presence in over 150 countries globally.

Eyup said the cost of living has been soaring since the Covid-19 pandemic started and has been aggravated by the conflicts between Ukraine and Russia.

Both Russia and Ukraine, he said, are vital producers of foodstuff but that the sanctions against Russia and the war itself have made it impossible for them to export them.

He however hailed the United Nations and Turkey for brokering an agreement that has seen both countries sign a deal to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports.

The agreement, he said, would help ease a global food crisis.

The neighbouring warring countries are among the world’s biggest exporters of food, but Russia’s invasion led to a de-facto blockade of the Black Sea, resulting in Ukraine’s exports dropping to a sixth of their pre-war level.

UN staffers will monitor the loading of foodstuff into vessels in Ukrainian ports they follow a preplanned route through the Black Sea.

He termed the agreement as historical saying it will help stabilise the cost of basic foods in the world, and that it would not have been possible without Turkish mediation.

“I want to emphasise that as Turkey, we are trying to do meaningful work for the world and humanity with all our strength,” he said.