Nairobi, May 31, 2023. Regen Organics, supported by Kakamega County and The United States government through the U.S. Agency for International Development, has today held a groundbreaking ceremony, celebrating the start of construction on the County’s first ever organic fertilizer manufacturing plant at Matawa’s Industrial Park in Mumias town.
The 80,937 square meter manufacturing plant is Regen Organic’s second facility in Kenya. Through it, the Company targets to create nearly 100 green jobs, and safely remove over 36,000 tons of waste annually. In addition, Regen Organics will manufacture insect protein for animal feed, and over 7,000 tons of organic fertilizers, making it easily accessible for farmers to practice regenerative agriculture.
“The launch of Regen Organics’ manufacturing plant today in Kakamega County serves as a shining example of how governments and the private sector can come together to drive growth and create meaningful employment opportunities. I am thrilled to learn that this partnership will generate over 500 full-time, permanent jobs in Kakamega and the western region over the next three years. This achievement will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the economic prosperity of the region,” says Margaret ‘Meg’ Whitman, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 33 million smallholder farmers produce up to 80% of the food locally available yet suffer the brunt of the ever growing impacts of inadequate access to agricultural inputs and degraded land productivity characterized by declining soil fertility and climate change. Regen Organics addresses these challenges using a circular economy approach, which professionally collects organic waste streams generated by cities and their environs and converts it into valuable inputs for productive farming: organic fertilizer for horticulture and staple crops, insect protein for livestock, and green energy for equipment.
Operational in Kenya for over 10 years, Regen Organics’ first manufacturing factory located in the outskirts of Nairobi processes 60,000 tons of organic waste annually and utilizes solar power and renewable fuels to produce 8,500 tons of organic fertilizer distributed in over 40 counties within Kenya.
“Regen Organics robust technologies are ripe for scale, not just in Kenya but throughout Africa and beyond. The time is now for a regenerative agriculture movement that restores farm ecosystems, improves food security, and builds thriving economies,” says David Auerbach, Co-founder and President, Regen Organics.
Kenyan farmers who have adopted regenerative farming and use Regen Organics fertilizers typically see an increase in yields of up to 30% in the first growing season, leading to increased incomes of 20%. At the same time, the company’s circular economy model offsets 20,000T of CO2e emissions on average annually.
“Kakamega County is one of Kenya’s crucial food baskets and therefore we are excited to welcome the establishment of Regen Organics LV manufacturing plant. We are aware of the opportunities that abound our county including over 1000 direct and indirect jobs and overall sustainable economic improvement of small holder farmers’ livelihood in the lake basin region through climate action food security and wealth creation activities. This is the beginning of our fruitful partnership with Regen Organics,” says H.E. FCPA Fernandes Barasa, OGW., Governor of Kakamega County.
Following this ground-breaking ceremony, construction of the factory is set to begin in July and by the end of 2024, it will be fully operational. Throughout this process, Regen Organics will work closely with Kakamega County’s Investment Agency unit led by its CEO Elizabeth Asichi.
“Launching and operationalizing our factory in Kakamega accelerates Regen Organics 5-year goal of supporting over 250,000 farmers to improve their livelihood via regenerative agriculture, creating 10,000 new green jobs, offsetting 500,000T of carbon and methane, and safely removing 1 million tons of organic waste annually,” Michael Lwoyelo, Managing Director, Regen Organics.
