Kirinyaga: UK Government aids county set up a rice husks factory

Kirinyaga County is ready for a major economic turnaround after Kerugoya Kutus Municipality qualifies for a Ksh. 400 million donor funding to establish a rice husks factory.

 The municipality was selected among 12 municipalities that will benefit from the British Government funded Sustainable Urban Economic Development program (SUED). 

 Speaking at a workshop convened by UKAID to assess the needs and preparedness of the municipality to undertake the project, Kirinyaga County Executive Committee member for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Samuel Kanjobe, said the rice husks factory will be a milestone achievement that will see the county greatly benefit from the rice byproduct.

 The CEC said that the municipality was selected by SUED among 11 other municipalities out of 59 in Kenya after writing a proposal for funding of the project.  He noted that the county settled on rice husks factory as a way of conserving the environment and the forest cover since the boards made out of rice husks will be used to make furniture instead of wood.

 The project will impact on the county’s economy since the rice husk value chain will create employment while the youth will also benefit since the project will partner with the Technical Institutes and Vocational Education and Training centers (TIVETS).

 He added that there will be constant supply of raw materials for the husks factory since the county produces 200,000 metric tons of husks annually. Kirinyaga has the largest rice irrigation scheme (Mwea) which produces 80 percent of all the rice grown in Kenya. Kanjobe noted that the rice byproduct is also expected to go up after the completion of Thiba Dam which will expand the acreage of rice plantation from the current 26,000 acres to 34,000 acres.

 Kerugoya Kutus Municipal Board Chairman, Daniel Kimweya, said that the needs assessment was meant to establish the level of preparedness for the municipality to undertake the project. He said that the donor will formulate capacity building responses which will include training among various stakeholders in case where gaps are identified.

 The workshop brought together staff from the municipality, the county government, the business community, representatives of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry among others.

 Kimweya said that besides curbing environmental degradation and unemployment, the husks project will place the County as an industrial hub that will make it attractive to other investors.

 The aim of SUED is to strengthen the capacity at municipality level to plan better for urbanization, improve rural links with larger markets that were previously difficult to access.

 It gives municipalities the technical support to enhance capacity for planning, investment, value chain and municipal management.

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