Category: General

A section of tea farmers in Nandi are worried that continued stagnation of tea prices in the world market is having direct negative impact on them.

They say tea prices have stagnated for the past ten years and the farmers are bearing the heaviest burden in the entire production chain.

Speaking during a Tea Day forum at a Nandi Hills hotel, Mzee Wilson Tuwei, Chair Siret Group of Tea Companies, observed that huge plantations of tea are not giving the tea farmers the value of their land.

‘When you look at tea prices generally they have stagnated for the past ten years and that is why we are not getting the real value of tea,’ Tuwei said.

He regretted that if tea prices are not looked into then the tea farmers will regress into poverty, since the cost of producing will outweigh expected farmers profit.

‘Tea prices for sure if not looked into, are a very dangerous crop that is taking up space on our land but not paying much,’ he added.

Mzee Tuwei noted that tea had taken space for keeping cows in Nandi and
that their expectations of reaping more from tea have been frustrated.

Tuwei, however, wondered why Kenyans were consuming only ten percent of the total tea produced, while the country was one of the world’s leading producers.

‘We want to know why western countries take more tea than we the producers. It is hardly ten percent of tea that we consume in Kenya, but ninety percent is up for export,’ he went on.

He tasked those involved in the tea value chain with developing more ways of consuming tea, including consuming tea as food or serving as a medicinal role.

‘We can even blend tea and porridge flour, so that we can take the combination without necessarily using milk and tea,’ Tuwei who positions himself as coming from among the first tea farmers’ families in Nandi suggested.

He challenged participants that as a country, we have to change from being not only leading producers of tea but also top consumers to up to at least thirty percent.

Tuwei welcomed the use of technology while harvesting tea as a s
ure way of reducing the cost of producing tea.

Nandi Deputy Governor (DG), Dr. Yulita Mitei, also present at the function challenged Kenyans to consider nutritional benefits when pure tea is taken without milk.

The DG who revealed that she is a nutritionist champion, hinted that there are multiple benefits when one takes pure tea without mixing it with milk.

Various stakeholders in tea also participated in the forum and highlighted the importance of increasing tea consumption in the country along the value chain process.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A man from Rongena-Manaret Ward in Sotik Sub County has initiated a football league geared towards fostering peaceful coexistence between Bomet and Nyamira counties.

Geoffrey Ngetich came up with a league known as Silatee Cup which draws football teams from Tembwo, Manaret and Rongena locations.

Ngetich said the objective of the competition is to bring about peace between the said counties, which have for a long time been marred with conflict resulting from cattle rustling.

He said the league was also meant to nurture talents among the youth who would otherwise remain undiscovered.

‘During holidays, most of our youths remain idle and engage in wayward behaviours, and that is why we want to engage them in football to avoid the same,’ he said.

‘So far, we have three teams going into their finals on Thursday and we urge all members of the public to turn up in large numbers to motivate the competing teams.’

Ngetich further urged the County Government of Bomet to renovate fields and form football clubs in or
der to foster sporting talents in the county.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Tunis: Lebanon, Senegal, Argentina, Yemen, Egypt, China, Mauritania, Kuwait and Spain are in the limelight at the 38th edition of the Tunis International Book Fair (FILT 2024), held on April 19-28 at the Karam Exhibition Centre.

For the second year running, the pavilion of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs is hosting an event called the International Cultural Days, with the participation of Tunisian and foreign speakers representing the nine countries in the limelight.

The event is an opportunity to build communication channels with the other and to open up to cultures and civilisations, Coordinator of the International Cultural Days Ridha Kochtbene told TAP on Tuesday.

He pointed out that this year’s programme focuses on countries and cultures from various continents, with a view to establishing gentle cultural diplomacy through culture and knowledge.

The event was opened by Argentina in the presence of its ambassador to Tunisia, followed by Lebanon and Egypt, with a focus on the cultural and artistic pro
ximity of these two Arab countries to Tunisia.

Senegal took centre stage on Tuesday, with an event dedicated to this country: “gateway to African culture and a meeting place for civilisations.”

The Negro literature was the focus of a talk by Tunisian poet, novelist and translator Jamel Jelassi, who dwelt on the work of founding fathers of the negritude literary movement, Léopold Sédar Senghor and Aimé Césaire.

Mauritania will be honoured on Thursday in the presence of Mauritanian students in Tunisia for a meeting that will shed light on the similarities and differences between the Mauritanian and Tunisian heritages.

The international cultural day devoted to Kuwait, scheduled for Friday, will highlight Kuwaiti culture and Tunisian-Kuwaiti relations through theatre and poetry.

Spain’s day is scheduled for Saturday, and will offer an opportunity to explore Spanish and Tunisian literature and their presence in academic circles in both countries, as well as the Andalusian heritage in Tunisia from the 12th cen
tury to the present day.

The closing session of the International Days will be dedicated to Yemen, for an immersion in the culture of this country on the Arabian Peninsula and its presence in the work of Tunisian historians.

Publishers from 25 countries offering over 109,000 titles are taking part in FILT 2024.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has begun to compensate farmers who bought substandard fertiliser.

NCPB Managing Director (MD) Joseph Kimote said that the move follows a directive from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MOALD) that all farmers who bought KEL fertilisers be compensated.

‘All affected farmers are urged to lodge formal complaints by filling out a Claim Declaration Form that will be provided at the depot or selling centre where they bought the fertilizer. They are also required to present their original national ID cards and evidence of purchase including the exhibits where applicable (for those who have not used the fertiliser),’ explained Kimote.

The MD stated that all farmers who have utilised the fertilisers and NCPB has verified that they procured them from their stores will be issued with an equivalent amount of the top-dressing fertiliser.

‘In the case of farmers who procured and have not utilised the fertiliser, they will be required to return the pro
duct to NCPB stores and be issued with equivalent amount of planting fertiliser,’ said Kimote, adding that farmers’ documentation must match with the existing records at NCPB’s silos or depots in the mezzanine system.

Meanwhile, Kimote said that the Board has distributed three million bags of planting and 300,000 topdressing fertiliser for the 2024 long rainy season to registered farmers.

‘Farmers are continuing to receive e-voucher messages for top-dressing fertiliser and are encouraged to visit the nearest NCPB depot or selling centre to purchase quality fertilisers under the Government Subsidy Programme (GSP),’ said Kimote.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Coffee farmers allied to various cooperative societies have earned Sh1.058 billion in Tuesday’s auction at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE).

The amount was higher compared to Sh802 million that was realised last week from 19,804 bags that were auctioned.

During this week’s auction, 26,449 bags sourced from 1,081 cooperative societies across the country were traded.

In the auction a total of 5,056 bags of grade AA were sold fetching Sh247.6 million from local and international buyers. 10,377 bags of grade AB earned farmers Sh433.98 million.

Alliance Berries Ltd led the other coffee agents by selling 7,546 bags for Sh328.764 million followed by Kirinyaga Slopes Ltd which sold 7,371 bags of coffee for Sh264.58 million.

New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (NKPCU) emerged third-best seller by selling 4,739 bags for Sh212.89 million.

Among the bags sold by NKPCU, 1,248 bags were of grade AA which fetched Sh64.301 million.

Among coffee factories that made remarkable sales include the Konyu factory in Kiriny
aga which sold 43 bags of grade AA earning Sh8.169 million.

Guama and Gaturiri factories which traded their coffee through Alliance Berries Ltd sold a total of 81 bags of grade AA earning Sh7.577 million.

The Karatina coffee factory through Alliance Berries Limited also sold another consignment of 133 bags of AA each at Sh60,702 per bag.

NCE acting Chief Executive Officer Lisper Ndungu said in the past few weeks, Kenyan coffee has continued to attract lucrative prices.

She said 19 local and international buyers have been attracted by Kenyan coffee adding the buyers are very interested in the quality of coffee offered in the auction.

Four factories including Konyu, Guama, Gaturiri and Karatina, Ms Ndungu said, presented high-quality coffee that fetched better prices.

The CEO who spoke to KNA via phone said other factories whose coffee fetched above Sh53, 000 per bag include Ndaroini, Kagumo, Iyego and Mukengeria.

In the coffee buyers’ category, Ms Ndung’u detailed that Ibero Kenya bought 5,960 bags for
Sh264.58 million, followed by C. Dorman Ltd which bought 4,308 bags at Sh222.27 million.

‘Other buyers were Kenyacof 5,622 bags for Sh213.66 million, Louis Dreyfus 5,511 bags for Sh198.89 million, Jowam coffee traders bought 1,163 bags for Sh42.9 million,’ said the NCE official.

Kigumo MP Joseph Munyoro in a rejoinder lauded the government’s efforts to revive the coffee sector saying farmers are earning better income from the crop.

He encouraged the farmers to adopt best practices to produce high-quality coffee which fetches better prices.

Chairman of Kenya Coffee Producers Association Peter Gikonyo said the coffee auction was stable following delivery of coffee by aggressive marketing agents.

He said his organisation is encouraging farmers to sell their coffee through renowned marketing agents noting that the NCE trading platform is doing well in terms of attracting best buyers.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Tunis: The international partnership project for training-research and valorization of archaeological heritage «Haya bina Thyna», was officially launched in the Thaenae archaeological site by Director General of the INP Tarek Baccouche and French Ambassador to Tunisia Anne Guéguen.

The event was attended by Vice-President of Sfax University Faiez Gargouri and Representative of the University of Aix-Marseille Jean Christoph Sourisseau, the INP said in a statement.

Co-supported by the INP, the University of Sfax and Aix-Marseille University/Cnrs, supported by the French Embassy and in partnership with the IFT, the project, which will continue until 2026, seeks to promote the archaeological site as a pilot and regional site in the field of research training, safeguarding and of the valorization of the archaeological heritage of southern Tunisia.

The project is based on the consolidation of multidisciplinary training for young Tunisians, the development of the partnership network in the archaeology field, the
development of sites and cultural mediation based on the school site Tunisian-French archaeological site of Thaenae, implemented since 2017. It also involves producing multidisciplinary scientific knowledge on the history and archeology of archaeological sites necessary for their valorization and protection so as to control the phenomena of degradation of the sites.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Ripple Effect Organisation will partner with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) to produce amaranth seeds for commercial purposes.

Speaking during an agricultural field day for Amaranth growers in Kakrao Ward-Suna Migori, Ripple Effect Kenya Director Titus Sagala said that Amaranth, a vegetable crop, is a climate-smart ecological crop that has performed well in Migori County.

Amaranthus is a multicultural group of species and perennial plants that are short-lived, and some of its species are cultivated as leaf vegetables.

Sagala said that the plant, which was introduced two years ago in Kakrao and West Kanyamkago Wards in Migori County has done well compared to other parts of the country.

Already the Amaranthus growers in the two wards are reaping the benefits of planting vegetable crops through value addition. The vegetable crop grains are being used to produce flour that is rich in nutrients and diet as compared to other flour products.

Amaranth has started to gain popul
arity as a health food in recent years because of its many micronutrients and anti-inflammatory properties. The crop grains are rich in fibre and protein, as well as many important micronutrients that make them a good source of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and iron.

Through the assistance of Ripple Effect NGO, the amaranth growers from the two wards have been empowered to grow amaranth for commercial purposes. The groups supported by the NGO have been able to add value to their amaranth by producing amaranth flour. The flour is rich in proteins and vitamins and is currently retailed in various local supermarkets and retail shops after acquiring Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) certification.

Ripple Effect Field Officer Boaz Nyaoro said that the certification from the Kenya Bureau of Standards has become the biggest blessing for the amaranth growers because the product can be value-added; widening the market links within the South Nyanza Region.

He said the amaranth grains that make the flour have becom
e a major source of income for the growers where different flour products like amaranth pure, amaranth mix (sorghum and millet), and amaranth cassava have hit the retail stores and supermarket shelves in Migori County.

Joseph Ochieng, an amaranth grower and resident of Kakrao Ward in Suna East Sub County said that Ripple Effect organisation has assisted the community to join two cooperatives, namely the Pamoja Suna East Cooperative Society and the Suna East Cooperative that link them to various markets in the county.

Ochieng, who has a quarter of an acre under cultivation acknowledged that the cash flow from value addition is worth it as compared to planting normal vegetable varieties that are highly perishable.

Ochieng encouraged residents to embrace new modern farming enterprises to reap profits and grow economically.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Public Service Vehicles (PSV) and e-commerce companies operating courier services without a license from the Communications Authority of Kenya have been warned that action will be taken against them.

This is after CAK Director General David Mugonyi issued a notice stating that operating courier services without the necessary license from the Communication Authority is a violation of the law.

‘The Authority has noticed that several unauthorised public service vehicle (PSV) Saccos and e-commerce platforms are providing courier services without the necessary license from the Authority.’

‘Any person that is found to be in violation of the provisions outlined in Section 49 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998, is guilty of an offence and may face penalties or fines amounting to Sh300,000 or imprisonment for a maximum of one year or both upon being convicted,’ stated Mr Mugonyi.

Mugonyi advised the public to only use postal and courier services from licensed operators in order to guarantee the
security of their belongings, adding that the approach would also help the public minimise additional risks associated with using unauthorised service providers.

He further instructed the public to verify the legitimacy of courier service providers by asking to see a valid compliance certificate issued by the authority.

‘Consumers can enjoy a secure and reliable service experience by choosing to support authorised operators, which in turn provides access to prescribed complaint resolution and compensation mechanisms,’ he said.

Mugonyi further stated that the Authority’s website provides a detailed list of licensed courier providers as well as information on the courier market structure and license administration framework.

He further noted that obtaining the necessary license from the authority and consistently following regulatory guidelines were crucial for operators to ensure compliance.

The move comes after CAK published a gazette notice in early April issuing a seven-day operating notice to six post
al courier companies, revealing that they would revoke the license upon lapse of the notice.

The courier operators are at risk of shutting down, despite providing services to major towns like Nairobi, Kiambu, Mombasa, Kakamega, Kisumu and Eldoret.

As of June 2021, there were 289 licensed courier operators, an increase from 263 in June 2019. Additionally, the number of private courier outlets grew from 788 in the financial year 2019-2020 to 901 in 2020-2021.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) and Kenya Ports Authority have today signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the operations and maintenance of the Sh40 billion new Kipevu Oil Terminal 2 (KOT 2).

The move aligns with a presidential directive for synergizing the two-state corporations.

KPC Chairperson Faith Boinett termed the signing a milestone that will open the country to regional businesses and employment opportunities. His KPA counterpart, Benjamin Tayari said the agreement will remove bottlenecks that resulted in ineffectiveness.

The SLA, KPC Managing Director (MD) Joe Sang stated it stipulates the role of the two-state corporations. KPC’s role is to provide security of supply of petroleum products across the region.

‘We are able to bring in through the pipeline 8.1 billion litres of petroleum products every year. It has been increasing, three years ago it was 7.5 billion litres. This year we are targeting close to 9 billion litres,’ said MD Sang after signing the SLA at KPA Headquarters in Mombas
a.

MD Sang noted that 60 percent of the petroleum products are consumed locally while the remaining 40 percent is for transit markets in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some parts of Somalia, South Sudan and a bit in Tanzania.

The agreement the KPC MD said cements the Port of Mombasa as a gateway to East Africa as Uganda has already committed since June to import all their petroleum products through Kenya and will use KPA and KPC facilities.

‘I want to assure the Ugandans that we are ready to serve the market and we want all the volumes of petroleum products to be transported through the pipeline because it is safe, efficient, and cheap,’ stated Sang.

To bolster storage capacity, KPC plans to commission a storage facility to handle 100 million litres of petroleum products in Port Reitz, Changamwe.

‘We are improving our connectivity in terms of flow of the products. KPA can discharge up to 8 million litres per hour. We are also improving our capacity so that we can serve t
he country better and ensure Kenyans go about their work without the headache of having to imagine that there is a stockout,’ said MD Sang.

On his part, KPA MD Capt. William Ruto noted that SLA gives the two state corporations with shared responsibilities and obligations that will improve tankers’ turnaround times.

To enhance efficiency, KPA will allocate a space for KPC to set up a laboratory at KOT 2 instead of transferring samples to their laboratory.

Through the collaboration, Capt. Ruto stated that they are keen to enhance efficiency in the evacuation of petroleum products.

‘By giving them a small space to carry out laboratory tests here we will be able to reduce time before a ship starts operations. It is also important to give ourselves specific timelines to reduce the cost of doing business because time is money. If you delay a ship for an hour it’s so costly,’ said Capt. Ruto.

The KOT facility he added is one of its kind in the region and the government and KPA invested heavily in coming up with
a facility that is not only for the present but for the future too.

‘This facility is built to operate for about 100 years, in fact, this facility is dredged to minus 15 metres, but there is provision for re-dredging again to minus 18 metres,’ explained Capt. Ruto, adding the design allows for re-dredging when demand increases without affecting the infrastructure itself.

The KOT 2 facility has four berths with a total length of 770m and one work boat wharf at Westmont area for landing facilities.

It also has five sub-sea pipelines buried 26 metres under the seabed to allow for future dredging of the channel without interfering with the pipes.

There are risers dedicated to separate oil products and six onshore pipelines each dedicated to a separate oil product connecting the terminal to Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited and the Kenya Pipeline Company storage tanks.

It is also fitted with a liquid petroleum gas facility, crude oil and heavy fuel oil and has provisions for handling white petroleum products
.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Silence reigns inside the cavernous mineral laboratory at Madini House in Nairobi’s Industrial Area. Tiny specks of dust drift placidly through the cool air of this facility whose sprawling expansiveness and brooding silence evoke images of an ancient mechanical shrine.

On the floor, assorted heavy-duty dust-coated equipment-rock cutters, crushers, giant ovens and a host of other mechanical tools-is carefully stacked.

The shelves, heavy with rock specimens, line the high walls. Towering above everything is a massive steel gangplank, complete with a ladder and a walkway.

From somewhere, a sharp click of a mechanical lever being yanked breaks the tranquility. Moments later, the sporadic thump-thump of a rock crusher calibrated on low velocity follows. The machines are awakening.

A geologist carries a rock sample to a jagged steel spherical blade that is whirling at such phenomenal speed that it’s just a blur.

With practiced caution, he gently feeds one edge of the rock to the blade. At the instant of conta
ct, the rock screams. The lethal steel shrieks back. Sparks fly. A furious storm of dust erupts. A few inches above the rotating blade, a tiny tap erupts and sends a thin jet of cold water at the deadly blade to keep it from overheating.

Moments later, the deafening din subsides. The blade purrs softly, slows down and stops. The ensuing silence is equally as loud. Unbothered, the geologist holds up to the overhead light a wafer-thin slice of rock. The fragment is so thin that it has a glass-like translucent quality.

‘The thinness is critical for exact results under the petrographic microscope. You can see the distribution of elements on the sample,’ he says.

The 90-year-old Madini Mineral Testing Laboratory holds a special place in Kenya’s mineral landscape as the only premier mineral processing, identification and classification centre in the country.

First established in 1933 with help from the British Geological Survey, the laboratory has for decades remained a central cog in Kenya’s mining ecosystem.

F
rom being a significant enabler in mineral mapping, the laboratory has over time become a central theatre for major mineral discoveries.

To mining experts, the lab is a venerable sanctuary where human expertise augmented by science and cutting-edge technology dissects rocks to lay bare the secrets within.

The Principal Secretary (PS) State Department for Mining Elijah Mwangi terms the Madini Laboratory the bedrock of the country’s mining landscape. He adds that the facility not only offers vital information on mineral types in Kenya but also helps in acquisition of vital data on quality, distribution and location.

A geologist at Madinin lab conducting a petrographic analysis on a rock fragment.

‘This the only such lab in Kenya. It is solidly at the heart of mining and mineral processing. As a key enabler in mineral discoveries in the country, her analytical capacity aids in revealing the mineral resources we have,’ says the PS.

Mining, by nature, is a highly specialised field that pays homage to proof of
minerals before deployment of capital-intensive investments for exploitation. As a result, the lab is critical to providing geological insights on mineral distribution across Kenya.

Additionally, it aids in gathering vital geodata on Kenya’s mineral resources. The minerals analysed include rare earths, construction, strategic minerals, precious and semi-precious stones.

The lab has both lapidary and chemistry sections. The lapidary lab is the arena for the heavy lifting in mineral processing.

This section is responsible for the physical operations including pulverising of rocks into the desired powder quality. Here, rocks are also sliced into ultra-thin fragments for petrographic analysis. This entails deep examination of rock slices under the powerful microscope to study and map distribution of elements.

The chemistry section is markedly different from the lapidary. There are no massive crushers or giant ovens to dry wet rocks.

Equipped with ultra-modern computers and a wide range of sophisticated equip
ment like Specific Gravity Testers for testing actual weight in carats for precious stones like gemstones, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRFs) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) for defining chemical composition of any rock sample, this section remains the pinnacle of technological advancement in mineral engineering.

Already, the government has embarked on the process of transforming Madini into a regional mineral testing and processing centre.

The journey towards ISO certification has started to grant the lab international standardisation status and strategically place it as the main regional referral facility for mineral analysis in the region and beyond.

To fast-track the ISO certification process, Kenya has entered into partnership with the Indonesian government on upgrading the lab into a world-class facility.

In March, a delegation of Indonesian government officials and mineral experts met with a Kenyan delegation led by Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Salim Mvurya over the creation o
f a joint technical team to draft a bilateral engagement framework for the project.

Currently, though Madini’s testing parameters are superior as per regional standards, lack of internationally recognised standards has hampered the country’s mission to market herself as a mineral hub.

Kenya annually loses millions in revenue as miners eyeing the international market take their samples for testing in ISO-certified laboratories in South Africa and Canada.

PS Mwangi says the collaboration between the two nations towards ISO certification of the lab will include equipment upgrades, capacity building for lab experts and joint partnerships in mineral exploration and analysis.

‘This is the vision we have to make our lab into a world-class mineral analysis centre,’ he says.

At the heart of this upgrade is Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), a formidable online programme to streamline lab operations and help track the mineral analysis process in real-time for miners. This will also eradicate fraudule
nt documentation for minerals.

Mr. Josiah Chumo, Head of the Lab, says Madini is poised to become the main referral facility for mineral analysis in the region.

‘Getting internationally recognised status is a special achievement that will market Kenya’s analytical capacity for minerals,’ he notes.

Currently, the mining department is decentralising laboratory services in strategic regions to promote testing services for artisanal miners in those counties. The regions mapped for mineral laboratories include Mombasa, Kakamega, Embu, Garissa, Lodwar and Kisumu. Others are Eldoret, Nakuru, Nyeri and Kitui.

Source: Kenya News Agency