Kitui expects an upsurge in mango production following a deal between the county government and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
JKUT lecturer Phylis Njoki said her institution has identified Kitui’s potential to produced the highest qualities of juiciest mangoes for the local and international market. She said the county has an ideal climatic to grow mangoes.
Addressing mango farmers from Kitui Central subcounty at Kwa Ukungu trading centre on Wednesday, Njoki said that JKUAT with support from Germany will test soils in Kitui to establish whether they have the right nutrients for massive production.
“We are doing soil sampling and water requirements for a single mango tree. We are going mapping mango trees to see how come up with a model to improve mango production, processing, and marketing,” the School of Agriculture don said.
Value chain and value addition specialist Temi Mutia told the farmers to adopt modern mango farming practices and post-harvest management. He asked them to form a cooperative society to market mangoes and associated products.
The Kitui county director for public participation Peter Mutemi said it was governor Charity Ngilu’s agenda to create wealth by maximising economic exploitation and harnessing researches.
(Edited by V. Graham)
