- The main indigenous vegetables grown in Kisii include spider flower, black nightshade, amaranthus, pumpkin, African Spinach (Enderema) and cowpeas.
- The Magena market will serve Bomachoge Borabu Sub-county which is the leading vegetable production in the county.
Image: RAILA ODINGA/FACEBOOK
Azimio leader Raila Odinga has arrived in Kisii County where he is scheduled to open two aggregation centres built by Governor Simba Arati's administration.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader will open a vegetable aggregation and marketing centre in Marani (Kitutu Chache) before moving to Magena in Bomachoge Borabu to launch another facility.
Raila is accompanied by some of the Nyanza ODM leaders including Migori Governor Ochilo Ayacko and area MPs.
Former Kakamega Governor Wyckliffe Oparanya is also in the team that will later traverse the Kisii CBD to speak to the public.
Arati has declared the opening of the two centres as a game changer in the empowerment of horticulture farmers in the county as they will now benefit from economies of scale.
"We must work towards helping farmers to have the shelf life of their crop enhanced through the provision of cold storage facilities and other forms of value addition besides availing local and foreign markets. And aggregation is one step towards alleviating the challenges faced by our farmers," Arati said.
The local vegetable is a source of income for Kisii residents.
Statistics from the county show that the area under indigenous vegetables goes up to 1,700 hectares, with a total production of 24,000 tonnes, bringing a total earning of Sh1.1 billion to the county.
The main indigenous vegetables grown include spider flower, black nightshade, amaranthus, pumpkin, African Spinach (Enderema) and cowpeas.
For years, green vegetable marketing in Kisii and generally, within the catchment has been disjointed with farmers experiencing post-harvest losses of up to 30 per cent.
The Magena market will serve Bomachoge Borabu Sub-county which is the leading vegetable production in the county.
Kitutu Chache North, where Marani market will be built, is the third leading producer of local vegetables in the county with a total production of 4,400 tonnes of fresh local vegetables per year.
There are approximately 2,705 local vegetable farmers with an average production of 16.3 tons per hectare per year against a potential of 30 tons/ha per year.
Magena market, a border town along the Transmara and Kisii has steadily grown into a major supplier of fresh vegetables to major towns in Kenya.
The vegetables are grown on both small and large scales in Kisii and the neighbouring county of Narok; in Transmara West and East.
Close to 1,000 traders ferry fresh vegetables from large farms and sell them on a large scale to individuals transporting the same to either Kisumu, Nairobi, Mombasa or Nakuru.
Currently, the traders sell the produce in open spaces and along the Kisii-Kilgoris road despite the dangers posed by other road users.