JLIANCO Deputy President for Africa Yuan Jialin , KAAA CEO Lucy Muchoki and Kilifi County secretary Owen Baya sign the agreement
The County Government of Kilifi (CGK), Jiangxi Jianglian International Engineering CO LTD (JLIANCO) and Kenya Agribusiness and Agroindustry Alliance Limited (KAAA) have signed a contract to establish the Kilifi Agro Food Park in the coastal county.
The contract will see KAAA and JLIANCO providing investment of 2.5 Billion Kenya Shillings to establish and operationalize a fruit and vegetable agro food park within the county. The contract was signed by H.E. Jeffah Amason Kingi, Governor of Kilifi County; Lucy Muchoki, Chief Executive Officer of KAAA and Yang Yugang, Vice President of JLIANCO.
The Agro Food Park model brings together bringing farmers, input suppliers, processors, retailers, wholesalers, exporters and other business service providers and links agricultural production to the market, so as to ensure maximization of value addition and a reduction on post-harvest loses.
Notably, post-harvest losses in Kenya and other African countries are estimated to 50 percent of total farm production. Additionally, the model will resolve the problem of optimizing management of dispersed smallholder farmers by clustering them in more effective units and using modern ICT tools to manage the supply chain. This model has been hugely successful in countries such as Malaysia, China and India (with the Indian food industry growing from $200 million to $310 million USD within a year.
The Kilifi Agro Food Park will provide a facility that will transform the economy of the county through creating better integrated value chains which result in greater value addition to farm produce, boosted income of farmers, lower post-harvest losses, reduced price volatility and increased exposure to more efficient and effective technology and practices.
Over the long term, the establishment of the Agro food park will result in an economic transformation and increase employment for the people of Kilifi County by providing a market for an estimated 200,000 farmers and creating 5,000 direct and 20,000 indirect employment opportunities.
Kilifi county has been selected as the site of the food park due to its strategic location in a rich production zone for fruits and vegetables which are available for processing; excellent connectivity by road & sea which; offers an excellent logistical advantages for domestic and international marketing; as well as the presence of Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) research centre at Mtwapa.
The initiative is a follow up to the recently concluded Kilifi County International Investment Conference and has been supported by the County Government as it aligns with the County’s Vision of establishing ‘’An innovative, commercially-oriented and modern Agriculture and Rural Development Sector’’
Jiangxi Jianglian International Engineering CO LTD. (JLIANCO) is a Chinese company, established in 1958 and is an integrated enterprise in the agro processing and manufacturing sectors engaged in: research and development, manufacturing, sales and erection of and service of industrial infrastructure and equipment. The company is also a well-known EPC contractor and has implemented several projects globally. They are currently implementing a 600 million USD sugar project in Ethiopia.
Kenya Agribusiness and Agro-Industry Alliance (KAAA) is a leading agro-processing organization that was formed in 2013 whose membership is comprised of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), corporates, co-operatives, financial & investment institutions, producer organizations as well as other key private sector stakeholders. KAAA contributes to the development of more competitive agribusiness and agro processing sectors through its initiatives in: Lobbying & Advocacy, Market Linkages, Finance & Investments and Capacity Development.
