AGRICULTURE AND AGRIBUSINESS

Agriculture is the main economic activity in Murang’a County. The county government has therefore established various programmes to support sustainable agriculture in the county. The government’s main focus is to empower farmers to shift from the traditional subsistence farming to the more modern and profitable agribusiness.

In the course of the last five years, the government has made a number of interventions in the dairy sector which have seen the price of milk standardized at Sh. 35 and 35 milk coolers installed in the county. An Umbrella body called the Murang’a County Creameries now coordinates all the dairy cooperative societies in the entire county. As a result of these interventions milk output has greatly increased with value of milk produced estimated at over.

Today, avocado farming is an attractive venture as the county government sourced for buyers in the international market greatly improving the price of avocados from 2 shillings to 10 shillings per fruit with farmers being awarded a Sh. 2 bonus per year.

Similarly, the government has now shifted its focus towards improving coffee farming in the county with a view of enhancing quality and meeting international standards. Through its Kahawa Bora Program, the county government provides improved coffee seedlings and other farm inputs such as organic manure at a subsidized rate.

Other programs include irrigation projects (Ajibika and Kimathi Githuri irrigation projects) and the construction of water pans in the semi-arid areas in the county including Makuyu and Ithanga areas, provision of improved quality sweet potato vines and the reviving of the Mariira Farmers Training Institute.