The national and county governments have been urged to enact laws that favour local industries to boost food security.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui said favourable tax regimes to empower local investors would help achieve President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda.
“Governments should lobby for and devise laws that favour local industries for the country to be food secure. I call upon the national government and counties to come up with favourable tax regimes,” he said.
Kinyanjui spoke during the launch of a bottling plant at Njoro Canners, a food processing company.
Despite Kenya producing much food, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows the country wastes over Sh100 billion worth of food annually.
Kinyanjui called for investment in post-harvest handling through public-private partnerships.
The governor stated that establishing agro-processing industries would minimize loss of perishable food.
He at the same time called on universities to collaborate with local industries in driving innovations and equipping students with knowledge as per market needs.
Njoro Canners director Sudhir Patel said the company has established major food processing plants in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda.
Maina Ndura, a farmer contracted by the Njoro Canners, called on governments to come up with low-cost, mechanized irrigation technologies for improved production.
