March 2022

By George Munene Former tobacco farmers in Migori county are shifting to planting high-iron beans under the World Health Organization (WHO) Tobacco-Free Farms project that provides a ready market for their harvest, inputs in seeds and fertilizers as well as farmer training. Farmer groups participating in the project have thus far sold 135 metric tons […]

By George Munene Kakuzi PLC has secured a permit from the Kenya Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) to process export-grade fresh avocados for the Chinese market. The move is expected to benefit smallholder farmers supplying avocadoes to the publicly traded company as it will open up China’s mammoth $133 million avocado market. The approval followed an

By George .P. Munene The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) project “AgrInvest – Enabling inclusive and efficient private sector investment in agri-food systems” (AgrInvest-FS), in Kenya is supporting the Nyamira North Women SACCO, a women-led Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCO) to grow and sell indigenous vegetables to, Mace Foods, a

By George Munene About 1,000 coffee farmers from the Kipkelion Coffee Co-operative Society are set to earn Sh103 million from the direct sale of 134.4 metric tons of coffee directly to South Korea. The graded AA coffee cherry was sold without going through brokers and fetched the farmers Sh116 a kilogram, 56 per cent more

By George Munene Standard Chartered Bank Limited has launched the Women in Technology Cohort 5 Incubator Program, an initiative that seeks to fund Kenyan women in tech offering solutions to challenges in agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing, IT, financial services, and logistics. The incubator program for female-founded businesses helps improve diversity in technology and entrepreneurship. The

By George Munene Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) has announced a plan to invest Sh5M into the Upper Tana Nairobi Water Fund (UTNWF).  The partnership will help finance small-scale farmers to acquire 50 drip irrigation kits, 500 water pans, and 20 biodigesters. 50,000 farmers will also be supported in carrying out conservation agriculture on their farms.