Nairobi — It is billed as Nairobi's premier trade fair, and this year's is proving to be no exception.

For, already gathered at the dusty grounds of the Jamhuri Park along Ngong Road on the second day of the Nairobi International Trade Fair on Tuesday was the cream of the country's creative minds, showcasing products and innovations that, year after year, continue to attract an eager international audience.

So, when President Kibaki finally cuts the tape on Wednesday morning to declare the show open, he will usher the world to yet another glorious display of Kenya's best, ranging from agricultural produce to industrial innovations and business models.

Vegetable drier

Among these will be a product by the Kiambu GK Prison that was on Tuesday billed as the country's answer to the extreme weather conditions that have become every farmer's nightmare.

The solar-powered vegetable drier allows farmers to harvest their food crops, dry them and store them for up to two years without the risk of losing the nutritional value of the produce.

Daniel Kamau, an officer at the prison, said the base of the drier is lined with foil, allowing temperatures to rise to as high as 82 degrees centigrade when the solar panels are opened.

The project was initiated two years ago after a humanitarian organisation approached the correctional and rehabilitation centre to take part in a project aimed at eradicating poverty.

"Schools in arid areas are adopting the drying techniques to address the shortage of fresh vegetables," Mr Kamau said, adding that the foil base acts as a reflective surface to dry the vegetables, though the amount of heat in the system can be controlled by opening exhaust vents incorporated into the design.

"Whenever one wants to use the vegetables, one just soaks them in water, and the freshness is restored," Mr Kamau said.

The average cost of the gadget is Sh15,000, but improvements can be made depending on the intended use.

Matatu operators

Also targeted by the innovators are matatu operators, whose multi-million shilling industry is a source of immense inspiration -- and also despair -- to their customers.

In this age of mobile telephony, it has become virtually impossible to survive without a cellular phone and, paradoxically, increasingly impossible to communicate inside matatus, whose crew play music at bone-conduction level and point to the brazen 'SMS Only' stickers inside their 'music factories'.

Their days, however, are numbered should the government heed the advice of a group of university students, who have developed an electronic device that automatically mutes the radio when it senses an incoming call.

Mr James Mwaura, a student at Mombasa Polytechnic University College, said the device offers passengers the convenience of mobile communication without being subjected to the whims of the often unruly driver -- who decides what is played in the stereo system, and how loud it is.

"It's a way of handing some of this control to the most important person in the matatu, the passenger," he said.

The third-year Information Technology student said the Sh3,500 device could also be used at home by those who are harassed by endless trips to their radio or television sets to turn down the volume to answer calls, or those who are wont to misplace their remote control units.

The mobile phone also inspired Anthony Mutua and Betty Ouko, who displayed a device that allows farmers to irrigate their farms from the comfort of their homes. The contraption uses a wireless control system connected to a control unit that is activated by either sending an SMS or calling a particular number.

The water flows

"You don't have to go to your farm whenever you want to irrigate it," Ms Ouko said. "You just dial a number and, Voila! The water flows."

She said the beauty of the innovation was that it could be used by anyone anywhere, whether the farm is only a few metres or hundreds of kilometres away.

And the farmer need not worry about the efficacy of the system, for it automatically sends a text message to confirm every successful initialisation of the irrigation process!

During the rainy season, the students said, the device automatically detects the sogginess of the soil, and does not activate if it detects enough moisture in the farm.

They said they were yet to develop a version suitable for large commercial farming, but promised to burn the midnight oil to crack the code.