Banseok Industry Company Ltd in partnership with the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) donated peanut peeling machines to five counties.
Tharaka Nithi, Migori, Kakamega, Kisii and Homa Bay received five threshing units each during the 8th Edition of Agritec Africa Exhibition and Conference 2023, held at KICC, Nairobi on June 15 to 17.
The machines are manually operated, therefore increasing efficiency in production.
“Groundnuts are 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,” says Mr Lucas Mosenda, Migori County CEC member for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Blue Economy and Cooperatives.
The county got a donation of five units of groundnut peeling machines, Mr Mosenda stating the move will enable farmers to reduce post-harvest losses.
The peanuts peeling machines donated to the five counties by Banseok Industry, a South Korean-based company in partnership with the KOTRA, are worth Sh1.625 million.
“The manually operated machine can thresh up to 180 kilos of peanuts per day,” states Banseok Country Director, Mr Fredrick Kimani.
Reiterating stakeholders and actors need to emphasize on mechanization of agricultural activities as well as adopting modern technologies, Mr Kimani observes that the awareness will spur growth alongside creating numerous job opportunities along all value chains.
“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 among the exhibitors during the Agritec Africa Exhibition and Conference 2023, whose theme was Improving Farmers’ Income Through Technology.
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 per cent of its produce to post-harvest since most farmers extract the seeds from the pods manually, and with the machines we foresee an increase in terms of acreage, affirms the CEC.
An estimated 200 farmers are expected to benefit from the drive.
“Our manifesto and promises to the farmers, they need to increase the level of incomes by encouraging and supporting them adopt modern technologies, machinery and value addition,” Mr Mosenda told the Seeds of Gold in an interview.
Most farmers largely depend on manual peeling.
“Kakamega has about 34, 500 farmers growing oil-producing seeds, and with the figure you can estimate the number of yields the county losses,” the officer regrets.
Adoption of modern technologies and methods in farming is key to spurring the growth, Musala insists, citing efficiency and quality products as some of the benefits farmers will acquire.
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, Ms Youngmi Kim and Project Coordinator Mr Maka Yoon at the same event.
The company deals with peanuts threshing and processing machinery.
