Kitui county says it has put in place measures to boost mango farming.
The county government targets arable parcels to increase yield. It will also focus on adding value to dry fruits as opposed to juice production.
As part of the initiative, it will sell a huge proportion of fruits to Makueni county for processing. Both counties are members of the South Eastern Kenya Economic Bloc and Makueni already has a functioning processing plant.
Processed products will be sold to both local and foreign markets.
Speaking during a farmers’ training session in Nzeluni, Migwani subcounty, yesterday, Dr Temi Mutia said they will work with international development partners such as the USAID to improve quality. Mutia is in charge of value addition in the office of Governor Charity Ngilu.
“We want to ensure that there is improved yield in mangoes and solar to dry them for foreign markets,” he said.
Migwani alone has more than 1000 registered farmers and 300 of them attended the meeting.
Timothy Mwangi, an officer working with the USAID in Kitui, said they will fund farmers through registered cooperative societies depending on the proposals submitted.
“USAID has partnered with Kitui to help registered cooperatives achieve better results,” he said.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
