The tot mango factory in Elgeyo Marakwet County is set to commence operations. Mr. David Biwott confirmed the report on behalf of the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) and said that the factory will from next week start buying mangoes from farmers.
Mr. Biwot pointed out that the authority had already tested the equipment at the factory in preparation on its start of operation and confirmed to be working. However, they are yet to buy one more machine to make the factory fully operational.
Second mango factory
The Tot factory will be the second mango factory serving the Kerio Valley which is a major mango producing area after another one partly funded by the Japanese government at the Cheptebo AIC agricultural training centre which only deals with apple mangoes.
The factory was funded by KVDA at a cost of Sh 49m. The Authority said that they also are awaiting for certification from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and others to enable them to distribute their products in the market.
“Given that this is the mango harvesting season in the area, we will start operating day and night shifts to ensure that they process 30 metric tons in a 24-hour period. The factory would save farmers millions of money lost when mangoes go to waste when they have nowhere to sell their mangoes or when lorries get stuck due to poor roads,” said Biwot.
“As we talk, hundreds of lorries are stuck from Tot to Chesongoch after the road was cut off by huge gullies as a result of the rains being experienced. The longer the lorries get stuck, the mangoes will ripen and go to waste,” he added.
