Kenya has started producing its first vegetable oil for bio-refineries.

The agri-hub at Makueni, in the country’s south-east, will have an installed capacity of 15 000 tons, but is expected to produce 2 500 tons this year, processing oil from sustainable crop seed, such as castor, croton and cotton seed. 

Africa Business Communities reports that the construction of the plant, by global energy company Eni, involved 25 000 farmers and employed up to 200 people a day. 

According to Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, ‘seed cultivation is handled by local farmers, thus promoting their access to market and ensuring access to land’.

The facility will also use the protein component of the seed to produce animal feed and bio-fertilisers.

26 July 2022
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