The Oloitokitok Tomato Agro-Processing Factory requires Ksh.300 million to complete installation of the first phase of the processing plant.
The tomato factory is expected to transform the region’s agricultural landscape, providing significant benefits to local farmers.
Kajiado South MP Sakimba Parashina, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Arid Lands and Regional Development, Kello Harsama, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ewaso Ng’iro Development Authority, Ngala Oloitiptip, have called on the government to expedite the funding for this crucial phase.
“This is a very strategic project to farmers and the government. We are going to mobilize resources of up to Ksh.300 million to complete the factory in time for the farmers to benefit in time,” said PS Harsama.
Kajiado South MP Parashina supported the immediate funding. “Let us push one item today, that is the funding of the tomato factory. Once it is done, my people will be happy,” Parashina said.
The leaders made the remarks during an inspection tour of national government projects in Kajiado county that was led by the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Executive Office of the President, Eliud Owalo.
The factory, once fully operational, will process up to 70,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes annually. Phase one of the project will process 24,000 metric tonnes per year.
The area’s tomato production stands at 70,000 metric tonnes annually, a supply that the factory is set to absorb, reducing reliance on intermediaries who often exploit farmers with low prices.
Owalo emphasized the factory’s role within the government’s bottom-up economic transformation agenda.
“What we need to do is unlock the funding. Once we have the tomato processing factory, we will have a ready market for the tomatoes from the farm. With the tomato processing factory here, we are going to have a value proposition to the produce from the farm; there will be a ready market at attractive prices,” said Owalo.
The factory’s structure is 100% complete. It is being constructed on a ten-acre piece of land. The factory will have cold storage facilities which will help prolong the shelf life of tomatoes, preventing spoilage and enabling farmers to sell their products at better prices.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ewaso Ng’iro Development Authority, Ngala Oloitiptip, said Rombo cluster is the biggest producer of tomatoes in the country and the processing factory will save farmers from post-harvest losses.
“The factory will not be restricted to processing tomatoes. Other produce like mangoes and oranges will also be able to run through the system,” Oloitiptip said.
Alongside the factory, the National Irrigation Authority is advancing the Rombo Irrigation Water Project, which will provide a reliable water supply to local farms, particularly in areas near the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.
“We expect that by the end of June, the project will be complete and handed over to farmers. The main purpose of the project is to expand irrigation and increase food security so that the farmers can get income and enhance production of tomatoes which will support the tomato processing plant which is located here in Rombo clusters,” said Engineer Risper Okumbe, Regional Coordinator, NIA, Lower Eastern.
Owalo also said the Isinet ESP market in Loitokitok town, which is 40% complete, will offer farmers a modern space to sell their produce.
For years, Kajiado farmers have faced challenges in marketing their tomatoes. Due to the perishable nature of the crop, farmers often lose out as their tomatoes spoil before reaching the market.
“We are going to spend Ksh.465 million to complete the factory. It is going to support farmers along the tomato production corridor, which includes areas like Mashuru, Kenana, Mbirikani, Liotokitok, Rombo, and Olerai. This is going to be a big benefit to farmers who have been exploited by brokers,” said Harsame.
The Rombo Clusters Irrigation scheme targets 5,269 acres covering four schemes – Kisioki, Matepes, Esosian, and Oltepesi – benefiting 6,000 households. Main crops grown in the scheme include maize, watermelon, beans, and tomatoes.
Owalo urged farmers to form cooperatives in order to have a stronger voice and bargaining power over their crops.
“We want to appeal to farmers to constitute themselves into cooperative societies so that they not only enjoy economies of scale on one hand but also have a better bargaining chip; if they are well constituted into a cooperative society, they will have a stronger voice to bargain for better prices,” Owalo emphasized.
Farmers in Kajiado county will fully enjoy the fruits of their labour once the Illasit-Rombo-Njukini-Taveta road linking Kajiado and Taita-Taveta counties is completed. The road will open the region’s economy for purposes of commerce and trade.
