Investing in Kericho County

Kericho County is located in the Rift Valley of Kenya and has a population of 752,396 according to the 2009 census but the number has increased. Its capital and largest town is Kericho which is the administrative.

Kericho County is located within a very rich agricultural area. Tea is the major cash crop while sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, maize and vegetables follow. Animal keeping is also practiced with dairy farming taking the lead. Commercial activities like whole-sale, retail catering and distribution services are also thriving in the county.

Kericho County is renowned for its large scale farming and production of tea. Its tea is among the best in the world largely due to its good quality, flavor and fragrance. Many large tea companies are based in Kericho county which include Ketepa Brand, Uniliver Kenya, James Finlay’s and Williamson which have employment opportunies to many people in the county.

Subsistence farming is also practiced in the county where farmers grow agricultural products like pineapples, maize, beans, potatoes, vegetables and coffee. Dairy farming in also practiced in the county and farmers generate income through the dairy products. Bureti District found within Kericho County is renowned for its large scale production of pineapples. These pineapples are sold in the local markets and some are also transported to markets outside the county

The Mau Forest, which is considered to be Kenya’s largest water catchment area lies within Kericho County. The forest gives rise to some of the major rivers that flow out among them Ewaso Ng’iro, Sondu, Mara, and Njoro River. The County can be in a position to contribute water resources to other parts of the country thus enhancing the national efforts of making water secure if it can be conserved well. Some of these rivers characterized by falls and rapids like Kipchorian, Maraget, Tumbilil, Nyando and Kiptaret have made electricity generation possible.

The unique combination of resources has been one of the boosters for the growth and prosperity of Kericho for very many years. The large tea plantations which have made Kenya the world’s number one black tea exporter.  The convergence of resources has also helped in opening up of great agro-based business opportunities such as investments in tea plantations, processing and packing tea for both export and domestic consumption, provision of equipment and farm inputs which range from fertilizers to crop-spray aircraft.

Other investments may come about through provision of finance to both small and large scale farmers. Despite the fact that there are many local and multinational banks that operate, the demand for credit facilities is still large. Since farming is heavily dependent on information, research and development may be invested into so as to help farmers improve on the methods to use so as to increase yields, develop disease resistant crops as well as how they can control infections and crop pests.