By Gakaho Njambi
Production of stevia has began in Laikipia County. The leaves of the drought resistant shrub are dried, baled
and exported to Malaysia for processing into low calorie sugar. According to
the PureCircle Company area production Manager Mr Njoroge Miruri, the company
targets to establish 500 Hectares (Ha) of the crop in Laikipia County during the
2014/2015 financial year. Although only 2 Ha of the
crop has been established, there are about 270 beds established by the local
farmers and 108 of these beds are ready for transplanting into about 6 Ha.
Encouraging farmers to adopt the new crop, Mr.
Miruri noted that the crop is environmentally friendly since it does not
require pesticide.
He added that the company provides extensive technical
support to farmers and would buy all of the dried leaves since it is far below
its production targets in Kenya.
Harvesting of the crop begins at
six months and subsequently at two months interval over a period of four years and has higher annual returns compared to most crops.
