Kirinyaga County Government has opened its first tomato market in the county. This will bring relief to both farmers and traders.
Makutano Tomato Market will become the largest tomato collection centre in the country for county farmers who want to sell their produce to export and retail traders.
Ann Waiguru, Governor of Michigan, stated that the market will house approximately 500 tomato traders who had been selling their produce along the roadside but were forced to relocate by the Kenol Sagana-Marua dual carriage expansion.
“The market will provide a conducive environment for our traders and shield them from harsh weather conditions such as sunshine and rain. Their produce will also be protected from getting spoiled by mud during the rainy seasons, hence reducing post-harvest losses,” said the governor.
Markets have modern social amenities like toilets, car parking, water drainage systems, and adequate lighting that will allow for extended hours.
The non-organic and organic waste will be placed in separate bins to allow organic waste from the market to be collected by pig farmers to feed their animals.
“We have also placed waste bins marked Organic and Non-organic with the aim of separating waste from the market. The bins that are marked Organic will be used for dumping the organic waste which will then be collected by our pig farmers to feed their animals,” Waiguru added.
The county, through Wezesha Programme, has supported over 60 farmers’ groups to upscale tomato production, through construction of green houses for seedling propagation and growing of high yielding tomatoes.
Waiguru stated that the county government is currently building a tomato factory at Kangai in Mwea constituency to address post-harvest losses. He also noted that this value addition will help farmers make more money and create jobs for Kirinyaga residents.
The factory will be making tomato products like tomato sauce, tomato juice, paste, pulp, concentrate and diced tomatoes. The ready market for the produce will result in a doubling of tomato farmers.
Waiguru said that the county government will continue providing support to farmers to grow tomatoes and provide a favorable environment for marketing.
By Mutai Kipngetich
Source: kenyanews
