Kigumo residents in Murang’a county have been asked to take advantage of the Sh385 million modern market the government will build in Kangari town.
The market will have a cold storage, making it a collection centre for farm produce for export.
Kigumo MP Wangari Mwaniki said the market will end the inconsistent supply challenge, which has made it impossible for local farmers to access the export market.
“The market will have cold rooms that will facilitate the packaging of our produce for export purposes,” Mwaniki said, adding that she is in talks with several export companies to help farmers package and market their produce.
Mwaniki, however, said the market will require farmers to change from their conventional farming and adopt farming methods that do not rely on rain.
Kigumo, the MP said, is an agriculturally rich area that does well in horticultural farming due to its climate and soils.
She encouraged farmers to also venture into farming of spices such as vanilla, which have a huge demand in the international market.
The legislator said the procurement process will be concluded in a few weeks, upon which construction will start. The market is expected to be completed in 52 weeks.
She said her plan is to put money into the pockets of her constituents and uplift their lives before the term ends.
She said Kigumo is only nine days away from the United Arabs Emirates market that is insatiable and sources for horticultural produce from the Philippines.
To ensure a consistent supply, the market that is strategically located will source for potatoes and vegetables from the neighbouring Nyandarua county to enhance its export capacity.
“We are happy that the government is constructing the Kinyona-Gatura-Njabiini road that will make it easy to transport farm produce from Nyandarua county,” the MP said.
She added that the market is also targeting the Great Lakes Region that includes Burundi, Malawi, Congo, Rwanga, Uganda and Tanzania.
She reiterated the need for the country to turn its focus towards exportation to empower Kenyans and strengthen the economy.
The MP spoke when she inspected the construction of the Mau Mau road in her constituency on Saturday.
The 540km road starts in Kiambu, traverses Murang’a county to Nyeri and stretches to Nyandarua. It will cost Sh30 billion.
She asked the contractor to employ more locals following complaints by residents that the company has employed foreign workers.
“About 70 per cent of the jobs should go towards locals. Kigumo has engineers and tractor drivers who can work with the contractor,” she said.
Edited by EKibii