Posted on September, 5, 2016 at 10:13 am
By BRIAN OKINDA
More than 60 Dutch firms are set to showcase their agricultural innovations at the Holland Pavilion during this year’s Eldoret Agribusiness Trade Fair, which kicks off from September 22 to 24 at the University of Eldoret.
The event’s theme is ‘Maximising Agricultural Opportunities’. The Dutch Pavilion will host firms exhibiting latest innovations in potato, dairy, horticulture, aquaculture, soil testing and pest management.
The event will feature both live demonstrations and short seminars on the growing importance of technological innovations in different value chains.
“We believe that the Dutch agribusiness sector can contribute to unlocking Kenya’s agricultural potential for economic growth and food security, benefitting the two countries,” said Bert Rikken, the Agricultural Counsellor for Kenya and Tanzania at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
ADDRESSING FOOD SECURITY
The gesture is a shift from the traditional partnership that the two countries have always had and still share in horticulture, and now extending it to potato value chain, due to the crop’s increasing significance in addressing food security.
According to the National Potato Council, the crop cultivated by approximately 800,000 smallholder farmers, is key in providing an inexpensive yet nutritional staple food as maize yields dwindle due to emerging diseases and erratic weather.
Companies participating in the fair include Agrico East Africa, Meijer, Europlant and HZPC Holland B.V, which is the largest private potato seed company globally.
Source: Daily Nation