Kirinyaga County’s Sagana Industrial Park has secured the unequivocal endorsement of pivotal national government agencies, marking a significant stride towards its full operationalisation and integration into both national and international markets.

Officials from the State Department for Trade, Kenya National Multi-Commodities Exchange Company Limited (KOMEX), Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA), Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC), and the Warehouse Receipt System Council (WRS), alongside representatives from the Council of Governors (COG), conducted a high-level site visit, commending the county government's progress in completing aggregation facilities.

"In our assessment so far, this is the seventh CAIP project we have visited across the country. Kirinyaga County is right at the top, it’s among the top two in terms of level of completion and we are pleased with that," stated Fanuel Kidenda, Acting CEO of KOMEX, highlighting the park’s advanced stage.

Kidenda further assured that KOMEX would facilitate farmers’ access to national and export markets through its trading platforms, thereby "improving the export competitiveness of Kenyan commodities and also in stimulating domestic value addition and processing."

He projected the park's completion by June, aligning with national government timelines, and affirmed that "We aligned on key priority value chains, including rice, coffee, tomatoes, and other strategic crops, to ensure that the industrial park benefits farmers and traders. The next step is to create sustainable market linkages that will directly connect Kirinyaga’s produce to both national buyers and international exporters."

Read More

  1. Kirinyaga football tournament returns with Sh1.5 million grand prize
  2. Kirinyaga County builds trauma centre to cut emergency response time notably
  3. Bomet delegation studies Kirinyaga’s strides in healthcare and water services

Governor Anne Waiguru reported that 18 high-value investors, from an initial pool of 54, have been shortlisted to establish agro-processing and manufacturing facilities, focusing on export-oriented industries in agriculture, leather, and textiles.

Deputy Governor David Githanda, representing Waiguru, emphasised the government's commitment to operationalising the park with robust market linkages, noting that "We are here today because we have a technical team from the Office of the Deputy President and the Department of Trade, who are keen on expediting the CAIPs program. They are assessing counties that have made significant progress and identifying ways to support them, especially in market linkages."

Githanda confirmed the park’s 70 per cent completion status, asserting that "The various government agencies represented here will play a critical role in ensuring that the market for value-added products is guaranteed, not just locally, but also internationally."

He added, "These agencies will ensure that Kirinyaga farmers have direct access to structured markets, allowing them to sell their produce at competitive prices. They are also ensuring that there will be no shortage of raw materials, creating a stable supply chain for industries within the park."

Lucy Komen, CEO of the Warehouse Receipt System Council (WRSC), emphasised the park’s role in bridging the gap between farmers and industrial processing, stating, "Most farmers are already producing and the CAIPs are quite advanced. Our focus now is on how to integrate these farmers into the system and ensure they reap maximum benefits."

Komen addressed the critical questions of farmer, investor, and market alignment, posing, "How are the farmers going to benefit? How will the investors and markets align with CAIPs? These are the key questions we are mapping out, and we will develop a strategy paper to be presented annually to ensure that Kirinyaga farmers can sell their produce with minimal barriers and maximum profits."

Kidenda also pledged to address policy challenges affecting investors, traders, and cooperatives, further unlocking the county’s economic potential.

The nationwide technical assessment, running from March 10 to March 21, 2025, aims to evaluate counties with significant CAIP implementation progress.

Githanda concluded, "With the support from national agencies, we are confident that the Sagana Industrial Park will be fully operational soon, creating jobs, transforming livelihoods, and placing Kirinyaga produce on both national and international markets."