From Avocados to Oil: Kisii Opens Its Factory-Gate Economy

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NewsWeekPRO From Avocados to Oil: Kisii Opens Its Factory-Gate Economy By: Joseph Muraya Date:

KISII, Kenya-  President William Ruto has commissioned the Kisii County Aggregation and Industrial Park, placing avocado oil, banana flour and packaged tea at the centre of a plan to shift the region from selling raw produce to producing branded goods.

The park is designed to bring value addition closer to farmers, traders and small businesses by processing agricultural produce within the county rather than sending it out in raw form.

President Ruto said the facility will enable Kisii farmers to turn avocados into oil, bananas into flour and tea into blended and packaged products for local and export markets.

The project is part of the national County Aggregation and Industrial Parks programme, through which 34 parks are being developed across Kenya.

The more consequential phase for Kisii now begins after the commissioning: equipping the park, securing manufacturers and linking farmers to reliable markets.

The State Department for Industry has already advertised a tender for the supply, installation, commissioning, training and two-year technical support of banana-processing equipment for the Kisii CAIP. 

In 2022, we made a commitment to the people of Kenya: Industrialisation would no longer be concentrated in Nairobi and a few major urban centres.We pledged to bring manufacturing, value addition and jobs closer to farmers, traders, entrepreneurs and young people across the… pic.twitter.com/avFcA2qRA0

Kisii County has also sought investors, manufacturers, agro-processors and industrial developers to lease, equip, develop and operationalise the park, as well as an adjacent 25 acres and a further five acres of land.

That means the park is being positioned not merely as a government-built facility but as a production hub that must attract private capital, processors and buyers.

For farmers, the proposed shift could reduce dependence on middlemen and raw-produce markets, where prices can fall sharply during peak harvesting periods. 

The value of the project, however, will depend on whether equipment is installed, processors begin production and farmers are consistently able to supply quality produce.

Kisii has been identified nationally as a key avocado-oil hub under the CAIP programme, while the new banana-processing equipment is expected to support the production of flour and other products.

Tea blending and packaging could also allow producers to capture a larger share of the value chain instead of selling unprocessed leaves that are packaged and marketed elsewhere.

The industrial park model is built around the idea that counties should develop industries based on their strongest local commodities. 

Other counties have been assigned product lines such as macadamia processing, tomato paste, cassava starch, sunflower oil, fish feed, leather and camel-milk products. 

President Ruto said 15 of the 34 County Aggregation and Industrial Parks under development have been completed, with the National Government having invested Sh8.5 billion in the programme.

He added that Sh2.5 billion has been allocated in the current financial year to procure common-user manufacturing equipment for 17 counties.

Under the financing model, the National Government and county governments each contribute Sh250 million towards park construction.

The commissioning of the Kisii facility gives the Gusii region a physical platform for agro-processing. 

But its real success will be measured not by the buildings alone, but by the number of factories operating, products reaching markets and farmers earning more from every avocado, banana and kilogramme of tea.

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