Kisii farmers are set to benefit in modern farming technology through a proposed partnership between the Kisii county government and an Israeli investor.
The partnership will entail, value addition, harvesting, processing and cooling of dairy produce.
The investor under the umbrella Green Arava Company seeks to develop sustainable agricultural businesses in developed areas and emerging economies, with a particular expertise in transformation of semi-arid and arid regions.
Green Arava Chairman, Yariv Kedar urged Kisii County Government to consider selecting farmers for training on improved agriculture in Israel.
“A few students from Kenya are undergoing an 11 months training in Israel to gain knowledge on modern farming in various fields which include agriculture, poultry, aquaculture, and cattle farming.” said Kedar.
Kedar said that the company’s focus is to implement the most advanced and modern agro technologies which will empower its customers and ensure sustainability and growth in all corners of the world.
“Our intention is to transform agriculture in Kisii County by adding value to your agricultural products if you take our initiative,” he opined.
In a presentation, he showed various projects undertaken by Green Arava including processing of maize, fish and avocado produce.
Emma Mwenda, Commercial manager at Green Arava, talked about the Myco Apply Endoprime product that helps build better crops from bottom up.
Myco Apply Endoprime contains four species of mycorrhizae organisms,scientifically selected for crop needs. These beneficial fungi live in a symbiotic relationship with the roots of the plant providing water and nutrients to your crops.
“Through the creation of water storage tanks within the root; the root is able to draw in and store water in periods of moisture abundance and release it slowly to the crop during drought stress thereby maximizing plant health and vigor,” said Mwenda.
Kisii deputy governor Joash Maangi supported Green Arava initiative since a majority of kisii residents are farmers.
He also addressed challenges facing farmers which include lack of cold-room and silo storage facilities, lack of a market and adding value to their products.
“The problem with our farmers is how to preserve their products so that to prevent them from deteriorating in their value before they are sold,” said Maangi.
Maangi urged the investors to help Kisii County come up with cold room storage facilities which will help preserve farmers’ products and enhance returns due to prolonged produce shelf-life.
Green Arava has a wide range of expertise and operates on large scale farming with open-field irrigated crops, green houses with high quality vegetables, packing houses, cooling and post-harvest facilities. The company has agricultural productivity concerns in several countries the world over.
