KCDMS Regional Manager Seth Yake and CECM for Agriculture at Hotel Itoya on Wednesday. Photo courtesy.

Kenya  Crops and Dairy Market Systems  Development  (KCDMS)  has  launched a program dubbed Business to Business Forum that  will enable Busia farmers benefit from  easy access to markets for their products,  diverse agricultural  production and improved  productivity.

Over  100 participants  including producer, processing groups and  business  Development service groups met  at Hotel Itoya  on Wednesday last week for  the inaugural  Business to Business Forum  to address  challenges facing  Busia  crop and dairy farmers.

“Busia is among 12 counties in the country where the activity is being implemented and is designed to spur competitive, resilient market systems in Kenya’s horticulture and dairy sectors,” KCDMS Regional Manager Seth Yake.

” The B to B  Forum  is meant to link producers to markets and  also other actors along the value chains of specific crops. These are intended to bring in the business fraternity within and without the county so that they can interact and make deals, and have future prospects enumerated.”

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Yake said the program is funded as part of Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger, and food security initiative that helps to increase agricultural production and reduce poverty and malnutrition in Kenya.

He  regretted that  90 percent of smallholder farmers still grow maize or other staple crops that have low income generation potential, adding that 70 per cent of Kenya’s domestic milk  supply are constrained  by nutrient-deficient animal feed  and lack of productive cows and in-county processing.

County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture and Animal Resources Dr Moses Osia said the forum is a good opportunity for Busia farmers   to get to know where they can sell their products.

” This is a very   good opportunity for Busia farmers to produce and market their products. This is key for producers to add value to their crops,” he said.

” Our uptake are very low in applying for  the concept  from private sector actors  with ideas for business growth, market expansion, and  new technologies. We have done our best to bring   program implementers, Research Triangle Institute to the ground. Why not write concepts even in broken English. We must beat Kisumu, Bomet and Makueni.

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We should bring to an end the culture of importing eggs and feeds from Uganda whereas we are capable of producing them locally,” he said. 

A farmer   from Adongos Dairy Farmers Co-operative Society Dismas Etyang said the forum has enabled them get a buyer for their milk which is 900 litres per day.

Lilian Ouma said the forum had enabled her interact with market and Artificial Insemination providers, and extension officers which will open their products to the outside world and urgent attention when they are in dire need.  

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