Over 600 Sunflower farmers in Makueni County are set to benefit from a partnership between Safaricom’s DigiFarm product, Bidco Africa and the Makueni County Government.
The 640 Sunflower farmers are the first beneficiaries of an end to end buyer driven model and will see Bidco Africa provide a ready market for their produce which is used as raw materials in the processing of edible oils.
“We are glad that we are able to help farmers actualise their dreams through DigiFarm by providing an end to end process that will ensure that farming becomes a profitable venture that will eventually uplift their living standards. We hope to continue to engage more farmers with different crops so that we can help them reap maximum benefits” Said Rita Okuthe, Chief Enterprise Officer, Safaricom.
Makueni is the first County to pilot the end to end value chain with different farmers to accessing a ready market. DigiFarm provides technical support through quality fertiliser, seeds and access to credit and insurance to help increase productivity.
According to the Governor, about 941 metric tons of sunflower valued at KES 35Million shillings has been harvested. Out of the 10,000 metric tons of sunflower seeds demand by Bidco annually, Makueni has been allocated a 2,000 quota, a motivator to the local farmers to take up Sunflower production/.