Nairobi — A total of five Counties have received peanut peeling machines from Banseok Industry Company Ltd in partnership with Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
Tharaka Nithi, Migori, Kakamega, Kisii and Homa Bay devolved units were issued the threshing units during the 8th edition of Agritec Africa Exhibition and Conference 2023 that took place in Nairobi's KICC from June 15 to 17.
The machines, which are manually operated, will make peanut value addition and production efficient and faster.
"Groundnuts is among the value chains in agriculture that we are promoting. Apart from oil extraction, the shells of the seeds are used as a raw material for animal feed processing and we are therefore committed to diversifying farming practices by adopting modern technologies," Migori County CEC member for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Blue Economy and Cooperatives Lucas Mosenda said.
Mosenda added that the units will enable farmers to reduce post-harvest losses.
"The manually operated machine can thresh up to 180 kilos of peanuts per day," states Banseok Country Director Fredrick Kimani, adding that the machines were worth Sh1.63 million.
"Adoption of modern approaches to farming, means growth to the manufacturer, producer-farmers, value addition and processing sector, transporters, and marketers thus increasing counties and national government revenue collection."
Banseok Industry was an exhibitor at the recently concluded Agritec Africa Exhibition and Conference themed 'Improving Farmers' Income Through Technology'.
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Over 150 exhibitors from 20 countries showcased their products with Banseok's stand attracting hundreds of oil seeds and crop farmers drawn from across the country.
With an estimated 250 acres being grown peanuts in Migori, the county loses about 20 percent of its produce to post-harvest since most farmers extract the seeds from the pods manually.
"....with the machines we foresee and increase in terms of acreage," affirmed the CEC.
An estimated 200 farmers are expected to benefit through the drive.
Apart from the peanut peeling machine, Banseok Industry Company Ltd KOTRA also donated a coffee pulping machine to Good Neighbours Kenya, which was received by Project Director, Youngmi Kim and Project Coordinator Maka Yoon.
The company deals with peanuts threshing and processing machinery.
