MERU — Kenya’s Deputy President, Kithure Kindiki, says the government is staying the course on its economic promises starting with 13 industrial parks meant to transform how farmers store and sell their produce.
Speaking on Monday in Meru County, where he inspected the nearly complete County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP) in Buuri Constituency, Kindiki said the Kenya Kwanza administration was committed to delivering on its development manifesto.
“These parks are not just buildings,” he told a gathering of local leaders and farmers. “They are lifelines for small-scale producers who’ve suffered far too long from poor prices, bad storage, and middlemen.”
The Meru park one of 13 flagship CAIPs is now 85 percent complete and expected to be fully operational by June 2025. It’s part of a broader plan to set up similar hubs in all 47 counties. Each is designed to help farmers cut losses from poor storage and take back control from brokers who dominate agricultural markets.
According to Kindiki, the first 13 parks will be ready before the end of the year, with President William Ruto expected to commission them. The rest will follow gradually and are slated for completion by 2027.
Farmers first, jobs to follow
Each park will house aggregation centres and value addition facilities. That means farmers can deliver their produce directly to a secure storage facility or even have it processed on-site instead of selling raw goods at cut-rate prices.
The goal, Kindiki said, is simple: boost earnings, reduce waste, and spur rural development.
The Meru facility alone is expected to create 700 direct jobs and over 100,000 indirect ones, according to government estimates. It will serve Meru and surrounding counties, especially those in Kenya’s North Eastern region, where access to such infrastructure is limited.
“It’s a KSh492 million investment,” said the Deputy President. “But the impact will be much bigger on lives, families, and county economies.”
The project is being developed jointly by the national government, county authorities, and international partners, including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Both national and county governments are contributing KSh250 million each per site.
The Meru park, which began construction in September 2023, features one cold room capable of storing perishable goods at temperatures as low as –4°C, as well as eight processing units four for value addition and four for aggregation.
A big promise with big expectations
The CAIP programme is a key pillar of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Plan (BETA), Kenya Kwanza’s signature development strategy. The plan focuses on uplifting informal workers, farmers, and small traders by improving access to infrastructure, finance, and markets.
But the pressure is on. Many Kenyans, particularly in rural areas, have voiced frustration with slow progress and rising living costs.
“This project looks good,” said Janet Karimi, a tomato farmer from Timau. “But we want to see it open, not just hear speeches. We’ve heard promises before.”
Analysts say the parks could deliver meaningful change if well managed and sustained.
“Aggregation centres make sense,” said Dr. George Mburu, an economist based in Nairobi. “But the key is long-term support. Without market linkages, training, and operational funding, these parks risk becoming underused shells.”
Kindiki, however, dismissed doubts. “We’re not building monuments,” he said. “We’re building engines of economic growth.”
Whether that promise holds will become clearer in the coming months as steel turns to systems, and farmers wait for results.
