The County Government of Embu is banking on cultivation of pixie oranges in the arid region of Mwea Sub-county to uplift the social-economic well-being of residents.
Pixie oranges that are cross breed between oranges and tangerines are known to thrive in hot climatic conditions and predominantly grown in Makueni County followed by other Ukambani Counties of Machakos and Kitui.
Governor Cecily on Tuesday distributed 16, 000 pixie orange seedlings to over 800 farmers in the area as a way of introducing pixie orange farming that has proven very profitable.
According to agricultural experts, a well-tended acre of pixie oranges with around 250 trees each producing 60 kilos can give a turnover of up to Sh. 1.2 million annually.
She said pixies had proven to be a worthy investment in dry areas and there was no reason why they should not introduce it to their farmers in the ASAL areas of the county.
“Mwea and Makueni share similar climatic and soil conditions and we must wake up to this huge opportunity arising from the demand of this high value fruit and make every possible effort to fill the gap,” she said.
Speaking after distributing the seedlings to farmers at Karaba and Makima Markets, Governor Mbarire said the initiative was part of giving the farmers from the area an alternative source of income.
She said these fast maturing fruits could be the game changer in turning around the financial fortunes of farmers who rely on hardy cereals such as green gram, cowpeas and to some extent muguka (khat) farming for income.
The Governor said they plan to continue with the program every year which will, along other value chains they are pushing including mangoes, macadamia and honey in other parts, provide raw materials for value addition at the County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP) that is under construction at Machang’a area.
Makima Ward MCA Philip Nzangi said fruit farming could offer farmers many years of economic success.
He said it was a better alternative to muguka farming that had proven unreliable owing to price fluctuations.
“The program will not only earn farmers’ income directly, but will also contribute in raising the tree cover in the county in attainment of the government’s goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032,” he said.
