Nyandarua to construct multi-million pack house

Fresh produce farmers from Nyandarua County are set to benefit from a multimillion Pack House project being put up by the County Government.

This is after Governor Daniel Waithaka Mwangi on Thursday morning launched the construction of a Ksh 60 million pack-house and cold store for use by horticultural producers across the county.

This means that the farmers will no longer experience storage challenges as the facility will provide storage of perishable goods produced in the county as well as offer preparation space for export products.

The pack-house, with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes, is being constructed in Ol’Kalou town and is expected to be operational in the next eight months.

It will occupy part of the land set aside as Ol’Kalou showground.

Waithaka said the facility will enable farmers an opportunity for to package and store their produce at their own pace.

The first phase of the pack-house-cold store will cost Ksh 39 million, the Governor said, adding the project will boost horticultural production across the county.

“Nyandarua is renowned for its horticultural produce. Every year, some 30,000 hectares are put under various crops giving us over 500,000 tonnes of horticultural produce per annum,” said Waithaka.
He noted that the horticultural sector supported over 100,000 farmers in the county and generated Ksh 5.5 billion annually adding that it was the third most important sector after potatoes and dairy.