Farmers from Nyeri and other Mt Kenya regions will benefit from Ksh.1 billion in credit from Ecobank.
This follows a meeting between the Bank’s Director of Commercial Banking Samuel Odhiambo and representatives from over 100 farmers’ cooperative societies from the region and the County Government of Nyeri.
“We recognise the important role that agriculture plays in food security and employment in Kenya and that is why we have designated agriculture financing as a key focus area. We have set an initial fund of Kss.1 billion to support coffee, tea and dairy sectors in Nyeri and the greater Mt Kenya region,” said Odhiambo.
The other counties that will benefit from the credit include Embu, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Laikipia, Meru, Murang’a, Nakuru, Nyandarua and Tharaka-Nithi.
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga urged the bank to also come up with products that promote value addition for players in the agriculture value chain.
Kahiga said that despite having a vibrant cooperative movement, most farmers’ cooperatives in the region lacked the capacity to process their produce and were thus locked out from earning more revenue from their agribusinesses.
“As a County we have tried to address some of the unique challenges facing the agricultural cooperatives and their members. The focus for Ecobank should not only be to increase production but also support value addition for the dairy, coffee, tea and avocado farmers which will increase the revenue for the farmer,” said Kahiga.
