Garissa County brought together farmers, buyers and financial institutions to build business partnerships, expand agricultural markets and promote value addition.
The Garissa agribusiness forum focused on linking farmers to the County Aggregation and Industrial Park as a potential market for their produce.
Supported by Pastoralist Girls Initiative, the forum sought practical business linkages to improve productivity and strengthen farmers’ livelihoods.
The Garissa County Government has brought together farmers, buyers, input suppliers, service providers and financial institutions in an effort to strengthen agricultural businesses, expand market access and promote value addition.
Organised through the Department of Trade, the Garissa Farmers, Agribusiness and Marketing Business-to-Business (B2B) Forum took place in Township with support from the Pastoralist Girls Initiative (PGI).
According to the county government, the forum provided a platform for participants to establish business partnerships, discuss challenges facing the agricultural sector and explore opportunities for growth.
A central focus was connecting farmers to the County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP), which the county identified as a major potential market for their produce. The initiative seeks to strengthen links between agricultural production, aggregation, value addition and wider markets.
Aggregation involves bringing produce from different farmers together to supply markets more effectively. Linking this process with value addition could create opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses to reach buyers beyond the immediate sale of unprocessed produce.
The county presented the forum as a step towards establishing practical commercial relationships across the agricultural sector. Bringing buyers together with producers offered participants an opportunity to explore market needs and potential supply partnerships.
The inclusion of input suppliers and service providers also created space for discussions on the support farmers require to improve productivity. Financial institutions participated alongside other businesses, allowing engagement on the role of financial services in agricultural enterprise development.
PGI’s support helped bring these groups together around the shared objective of strengthening agribusiness and farmers’ livelihoods across Garissa County.
The county government said the forum aims to move beyond discussions by establishing business linkages that improve productivity, strengthen market access and support sustainable livelihoods.
The information released by the county did not specify any signed supply agreements, financing commitments or quantities of produce expected to be channelled through the industrial park. The stated focus remains on developing partnerships that can translate the forum’s discussions into practical opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses.