30 June 2011
Nairobi — A local charity is setting up a resource centre to boost horticultural farming in Central Kenya by providing technical advice to small scale farmers.
This will help reduce losses incurred by new farmers venturing into the lucrative industry.
“We realised that some farmers find it difficult to cope with losses when investing in horticulture and that is why we are establishing an ICT centre to provide technical knowledge to local farmers,” said Ms Dorcas Ngure, the general manager Waitrose Foundation-Kenya, which has invested more than Sh80 million in community projects in the last three years.
The charity is also setting up a maternity wing in Nanyuki at a cost of Sh14 million.
This year, the foundation will provide gas cookers to 280 Oserian farm employees, energy saving stoves to the community and solar lanterns to 327 workers in Tambuzi.
“We want to discourage dependency on wood fuel, which is environmentally unfriendly and hazardous,” Ms Ngure said.
Recently, 364 employees at Sunripe TK farm in Njoro underwent vocational training to upgrade their skills and knowledge, sponsored by the foundation.
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Centre to Help Cut Losses in Horticulture