The county government of Kirinyaga is hoping to inspire local growers to increase tomato production. Providing farmers with seedlings and helping them construct greenhouses are among the measures employed. Governor Anne Waiguru said they want to get local farmers ready to supply the produce to a tomato processing factory at the upcoming Sagana Agro-Industrial City.
The local government has already helped 69 farmers to construct greenhouses and propagate high-yielding, disease-tolerant tomato varieties to scale up production. Kirinyaga produces about 60,000 tons of tomatoes, earning farmers around Sh1.6 billion annually.
Through the Wezesha Programme, more than 2,000 farmers have been supported to plant an additional 1.1 million seedlings and increase land under tomatoes to an extra 122 acres. This has increased production by an extra 11,000 tons.
[ Sh100 = €0.64 ]
Source: standardmedia.co.ke