New facility set to reduce sunflower production cost in Nakuru
Inside the Sunflower Processing Common User Facility at the ATC
Sunflower farmers in Nakuru County are set to start benefiting from reduced processing and transportation costs once the Common User Facility at the Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) Soilo begins operations.
The facility is expected to strengthen the county’s sunflower value chain by providing farmers with a closer platform for aggregation, processing and value addition, while consequently helping them retain more value from their produce within the county.
For farmers such as Rosaline Menjo from Mosop, the facility could address a practical challenge experienced after harvesting. Rosaline, who had previously planted two acres of sunflower, said she had to transport her produce to a processing facility in Njoro.
Consequently, the additional transportation costs reduced the returns from her farming enterprise, especially when combined with the logistical challenges of moving produce over a longer distance. Having a facility closer to her therefore, is expected to make processing more accessible and affordable.
“Transporting my sunflower produce to a distant facility increased my costs and reduced my returns. Having a facility closer to us will make processing more affordable,” she said.
Moreover, the Common User Facility will enable farmers to participate more actively in value addition instead of relying solely on the sale of raw sunflower.
Nakuru County is seeking to transform sunflower from a small-scale crop into a structured commercial enterprise. At the same time, farmers are being encouraged to organise themselves into groups and cooperatives so that they can strengthen their bargaining power, reduce transaction costs and access better services.
County Agriculture Executive Leonard Bor noted that the facility is being set up in collaboration with Agriculture Food Authority (AFA) and would provide an important foundation for aggregation, processing and value addition.
County Agriculture Executive Leonard Bor during the launch of distribution of sunflower seeds
Furthermore, it is expected to create employment opportunities, particularly for young people and women, while supporting the development of a more organised sunflower value chain involving farmers, cooperatives, aggregators, processors and markets.
The County has so far received 59 tonnes of sunflower seed since 2024, supporting production across more than 9,000 hectares and demonstrating the growing potential of sunflower as a source of income for Nakuru farmers.