By Dennis Amoto
President Uhuru Kenyatta
has urged the
Co-operative movement
to support the
government’s industrialization
efforts by facilitating
farmers engage in value addition
of their produce. He said
value addition would ensure
farmers earned more than
they would if they sold raw
farm produce.
The Head of State pointed
out that the Co-operative
movement and the Agricultural
sector were inter-twined
and they needed to work together
to push the country’s
industrialization agenda. The
Head of State cited the case
of Othaya farmers who make
good returns because of adding
value to their coffee.
‘When I visited Nyeri recently
, I met Othaya farmers
who are now making Sh80
per kilo of coffee because of
value addition unlike other
areas where most farmers
still earn a meager Sh20,’’
said Uhuru when he recently
met Co-operatives officials.
He said the Co-operatives
are intertwined with Agriculture
sector and should always
work together.
Uhuru said value addition
will also create jobs. He added
that Co-operatives were
placed under Industalization
Ministry to ensure farmers
participate in the process of
developing agriculture and
livestock keeping in the realareas.
Turning to pastoralism
he urged livestock farmers
in the livestock rich arid
zone not only add value to
their animals by embracing
modern methods of
farming but also to keep
manageable stock. He
said the traditional ways
of keeping many herds of
livestock was no longer viable
due to climate change
and other challenges.
He called on the livestock
keepers to form Cooperatives
instead of relying
on middlemen who
end up eating into their
profits.
“If you add value to
the livestock you keep and
form Co-operatives finding
a market for the livestock
products won’t be a
big deal,” said the President
who thanked the camel
milk farmers for adding
value to their product to
earn international repute.
