Kilifi,KENYA:Four countries under the European Union have rolled out the establishment of a cashew-nut factory in Kakanjuni, west of Kilifi County.
The four countries are Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary that have collectively pumped in two million Euros for one of the mega project to have been commissioned in the county.
Mikios Kis, State secretary of the ministry of Hungary said the products from the factory will have an open and free market in Europe.
“The aim is to produce ecological products and the European Union is an open and free market for this kind of product which is a guaranteed ecological production and with this program we can easily reach our goal. So these products from the local farmers can be sold much easier like other products in European Union,” Mikios said.
He said the project is designed to be supported by the four countries for a period of four years under the management of Ten Senses, a non-governmental organization in Kilifi.
According to Frank Omondi, the managing director of Ten Senses, the project will kick off with planting of Cashew nut trees seedlings while the construction the factory is expected be complete by end of 2019.
This will create space for the raw materials to be ready for manufacturing.
“We are targeting fifteen thousand farmers from Kilifi who will be purchasing seedlings at Kshs. fifty per seedling,” Omondi said.
“We have a target to plant one million seedlings every year in Lamu, Kilifi and Kwale but the processing will be done here in Kilifi because the factory is built here,” Omondi added.
Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi said the county Government will purchase seedlings and distribute them to the farmers in clusters for free.
He said it will also sensitize the farmers on how best they can practice modern Cashew nut farming through its agricultural extension officers.
“This is a big achievement for the people of Kilifi, because cashew nuts is one of the cash crops in Kenya and an economic activity for the Coast people,” Kingi said.
“As a result my government will support it fully by purchasing seedlings for distribution to the farmers here in Kilifi,” Kini added.
