This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
On March 28, 2018, the Meru county governor, Kiraitu Murungi, launched a sweet potatoes value chain development project in the Nyambene Region of Meru County, which was implemented by National Draught Management Authority (NDMA) with financial support from the European Union.
The project aimed to provide a sustainable livelihood for sweet potato farmers by forming the Meru Friends Sacco, which started a processing plant that makes eleven products from orange fleshed sweet potatoes.
Speaking during the opening of the plant, the then Meru Regional NDMA Coordinator, Benedict Musyoka, expressed his optimism that the factory would not only provide market for the farmers' produce but also increase food security in the region.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought several challenges to the management of the plant, including difficulties in marketing due to movement restrictions and social distancing, which have led to poor sales and the laying off of some workers.
According to Doris Gakii, the manager of the Sacco, the factory buys one kilogram of orange fleshed sweet potatoes from the farmers at Sh.50, and membership to the Sacco is through registration, with a fee of Sh. 1,700.
Despite the challenges, the project has been beneficial to women who hardly own land in the region, as it promoted a crop that can be cultivated without much ado over land ownership traditions.
