Busia: The State Department for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Principal Secretary, Susan Mang'eni, has urged the residents of Busia County to embrace the farming of edible oil crops. Speaking at Nasewa County Aggregated Industrial Park after meeting with the Nasewa Cooperative societies, saccos, and agripreneurs from the area, Mang'eni emphasized that this initiative will help reduce the substantial expenditure the government incurs on importing oil.
According to Kenya News Agency, Mang'eni highlighted the significant potential Busia County holds for the farming of edible oils. "In our country, we spend close to Sh150 billion yearly to import edible oil raw materials, which does better in this region. If we can embrace that farming, a lot of this money can remain with us here," she mentioned. Mang'eni believes that the county can play a crucial role in boosting the national economy and improving the living standards of its residents.
Mang'eni also pointed out that the progress of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) and the County Aggregated and Industrial Park (CAIP) is near completion. She stressed the importance of stimulating production through farmers venturing into the edible oil value chain. "This is what will help us achieve the threshold of the production level that we need. This place is going to be a big industrial area in the country," she added.
The completion of numerous stalled projects, Mang'eni noted, necessitates increased engagement in agricultural production to attract investors. "There is a lot of competition out there for investors, so our failure will lead them to look for another opportunity elsewhere. This will lead us to lose many job opportunities for our youth and our people," she stated. She also praised the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) for their assistance in developing the value chain and enterprises.
The Country Programme Director of GIZ, Dr. Christoph Zipfel, emphasized their commitment to supporting MSMEs' growth, particularly in the value chain. "We see great potential in this region and most importantly, we need to create linkages between the farmers and large companies, buyer and supplier linkages between the two to drive quality and productivity," he explained. He also discussed the implementation of a dual TVET approach to equip students with necessary job market skills.
Dr. Zipfel concluded by stressing the importance of creating linkages to transform the country's economy. "Farmers need to be able to produce and deliver on time the right quality, failure to which the takers will move on," he warned.