Story by Elly Mwandiki
Photo credit Hilda Nthiga

A team from Kisii county government and Farmers led by their Agriculture chief officer ,Naomi Mokaya were in Meru county for a three day benchmarking tour on banana value addition chain for production, marketing and the vibrant cooperative movement in Meru to adopt best practices . Meru boasts of being the leading producer in banana production in the country with an annual production of 400 metric tonnes worth 6billion.

Carol Mutiga, Meru county Agriculture CEC, attributed this to the Governor's good will to attract successful partnership with various stakeholders and favourable climatic conditions. The County administration is also working on Meru County Crops Bill, Agricultural Risk Management Policy and Agricultural Strategy which are at advanced stages aimed to protect farmers through cooperatives, value chain addition, and possible legislations governing production, and post production practices.