Eldoret, Kenya. November 7, 2024. The Rift Region Agribusiness Expo at Eldoret National Polytechnic has underscored a collective commitment towards sustainable agriculture, bringing together farmers, their cooperative leaders, and stakeholders to explore climate-smart solutions for food security. With funding from USAID through the Economic Recovery and Reform Activity (ERRA) at TradeMark Africa (TMA) and the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) hosted the expo in collaboration with the Uasin Gishu County Government and the Eldoret National Polytechnic. The agribusiness expo offered a platform for training and sensitization on Post Harvest Management and market linkages through Business-to-Business negotiations with bulk commodity volume off-takers.
With over 1,000 farmers from Uasin Gishu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Nandi, West Pokot, Baringo and Kakamega counties, and more than 30 exhibitors, this year’s event built on the momentum from the recent Cooperative Leaders’ Conference, which was hosted by the Uasin Gishu County Government. Key recommendations from the conference such as the need for timely market information, investment in value addition for high-value food crops, and the development of export-oriented crop value chains were actualized through various sessions and engagements at the expo.
In his key note address to the farmers and exhibitors and on behalf of H.E. Jonathan Bii, Governor of Uasin Gishu County, Hon Edward Sawe – the CECM, Agriculture, Agribusiness, Livestock and Fisheries emphasized the importance of the expo in promoting climate smart technologies and practices for sustainable food systems. He remarked that “Our collaboration with EAGC will continue to build a more resilient agricultural sector for the county, providing our farmers with market access beyond domestic markets through their cooperatives aligning with the county’s ‘Nguzo Kumi’ development agenda on agriculture and food safety as well as trade and development of cooperatives”.
EAGC Executive Director, Gerald Masila, reiterated the impact of the expo on regional trade and food security. “The Rift Region Agribusiness Expo symbolizes our collective efforts to advance farmer cooperatives from micro cooperatives into farmers unions and federations, in EAGC model these are referred to as Grain Trade Business Hubs, a one-stop shop comprising of several farmer cooperatives coming together to leverage on the power in numbers not only for access to inputs, Post Harvest Management Services as well as access to premium markets for their farm produce,’’said Masila. Charles Koech, Principal of the Eldoret National Polytechnic, noted that “the expo allowed the Polytechnic to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical farming skills for the community’s future success in the agricultural sector.’’
The expo was a hub of activity, featuring practical demonstrations and training sessions that addressed multiple agribusiness value chains from farm to table exposing farmers to drought-tolerant seed varieties and conservation tillage methods, critical for adapting to changing climate conditions. Meanwhile, the Cooperative Leaders’ Trade Symposium offered a platform for cooperative societies to discuss strategies for scaling their operations from micro-level entities to more robust farmer unions.
