President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday made an inspection visit to Eni Kenya, the country’s first agri-hub that produces vegetable oil and related bio-products.
The agri-hub located at Kwa Kathoka in Makueni County started production last month and has already employed close to 200 workers, mostly young people from the county.
The establishment of the agri-hub was as a result of a meeting held in Nairobi between President Kenyatta and Mr. Claudio Descalzi, the CEO of Eni SPA, an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome.
Eni Kenya, which is a subsidiary of the Italian multinational company, in July last year signed an agreement with the Government of Kenya to promote the circular economy by setting up 20 agri-hubs for production of bio-fuels and related bio-products, with the Makueni agri-hub as the first.
Addressing workers during the inspection visit, President Kenyatta encouraged them to work hard so that the factory can expand rapidly and create more jobs, earn farmers income and help to reduce the cost of fuel.
Speaking during the occasion, Eni Kenya’s Managing Director Mr. Enrico Tavolini said the Makueni agri-hub has an installed capacity of 15,000 tons of oil production annually.
Mr. Tavolini added that the factory has already provided market access to over 25,000 farmers and will also operate as a training and technical support hub for the farmers.
Present during the inspection tour were Energy Cabinet Secretary Dr. Monica Juma and Makueni Governor Prof. Kivutha Kibwana and senior officials of the National and county governments.
