Hurlingham 26th July, 2021

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) is committed to support counties to be economically viable and be able to market themselves both to the local and international markets.

Speaking today in a meeting with Nyandarua County Chamber Chapter officials at KNCCI headquarters, the Chamber Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Samuel Matonda underscored the need for the government and other stakeholders to work closely with counties and help in sourcing markets for local products.

The CEO indicated that Kenya as a Country has great potential in producing agricultural products but lack for market discourages farmers productivity, affecting the Country’s economy.

In his response regarding the challenges faced in the Nyandarua County Agricultural sector, CEO Matonda maintained it is important to have policies that support, protect, and advocate for local production of agricultural products.

He therefore expressed the Chamber’s readiness to work with local farmers and other key stakeholders to ensure policies are in place to protect the agriculture sector.

The CEO revealed that for a long time, little focus was put on SMEs and the cottage industry and the Chamber of Commerce is keen on this and has been working to advocate for growth in these sectors.

In her remarks, County Executive Officer for Nyandarua Chamber Chapter, Perpetua Wairima stated that, Nyandarua County has great potential to perform better. She emphasized that with close collaboration and support from the KNCCI head office, much can be achieved in ensuring growth in the County.

Perpetua Wairima noted that much has been achieved in the sugar, tea and coffee sectors, through support from the government and other stakeholders.

Wairima therefore underlined that production of pyrethrum and other food products in Nyandarua County need to be supported to enable the County to perform better. She expressed confidence that with the help from KNCCI, much will be realized in the County’s trade sector.

On his part, Nyandarua Chamber Director for Agro-processing Joseph Theuri affirmed the need for the Kenya Government to discourage importation of goods that are locally available, as this affects the market for local products.

However, he explained the need for government to support local production by reducing taxation rates for such products.

Director Theuri decried the importation of Irish potatoes which is imported to the country by some companies, yet produced in plenty in Nyandarua and in other areas in the country.

To help market the County’s potential, KNCCI Nyandarua Chapter will be hosting an Agricultural Expo from 9th to 10th September, 2021. This event that will be held in the County of Nyandarua aims at exposing the county’s business opportunities to local and international investors.

In attendance at the meeting were; director county empowerment Charity Muigai and director resource mobilisation John Kiruga from Nyandarua Chapter, and Liz Guantai, Ruth Odenya, Evalyne Some and Grace Mwanja from KNCCI head office.