Lamu awaken with port business, property, tourism and agriculture

Scars of the 2014 Al Shabaab attacks in Mpeketoni in Lamu are still noticeable as some of the hotels and a petrol station attacked remain in ruins.

But the spirit of the people, such as of Ms Jane Wamboi, widowed at the age of 20 on the night of June 16, 2014, was never dimmed.

“Life has to move on. But the debate about land ownership in Lamu is still dangerous. I believe the attack was also due to landownership between us (settlers) and natives,” she said.

The social-economic grievances abound in the streets of Mpeketoni and the island town, Lamu County is economically on the rise, although under heavy military and police presence.

Eastwhile known as a terror-related insecurity-prone county, Lamu is now home to Kenya's second seaport, Lamu, which is slowly becoming a transhipment hub with several port calls.

At Hindi Town, real estate is booming. In Lamu County, especially near the new seaport, property market analysts said that land prices have skyrocketed.

Real estate firms say that in 2014 an acre of land in Hindi was about Sh600,000, but today it fetches an average of Sh8 million, due to its proximity to the port and island.

At Mokowe, the new County Government Administrative Headquarters, an acre goes for at least Sh10 million, depending on how close it is to the newly tarmacked township roads.

The Kenya Urban Roads Authority has also invested Sh1 billion to develop a 15-kilometre township road linked to the Lamu-Witu-Garsen road. Lamu is now a construction site.

Its tourism sector, which was in tatters after the terror attacks, is also on the rise thanks to the campaign by the government to secure its borders and in particular keep out Al Shabaab from Lamu.

Lamu hotelier Ms Keziah Mumbi said that Lamu Island has continued to attract visitors in their droves due to its attractions, ranging from boutique hotels and holiday homes, Swahili delicacy and cuisine, white sandy beaches, historical sites and friendly people.

Rich in history as being one of the oldest settlement towns along the East Coast of Africa, the area borders the war-torn Somali nation that has borne the brunt of the dreaded Al-Shabaab militia.

“We still face challenges of connectivity. The road has started to have potholes, while airlines that serve the Lamu route from Malindi and beyond remain scarce,'' said Ms Mumbi.

She said the planned expansion of the Lamu Port hinterland networks and construction of a bigger airport will attract larger aircraft and even have night services.

“Tourism numbers are up, with domestic and international arrivals picking up,” she said.

Mr Said Ali, a trader at the island, said that business at the new Port of Lamu is yet to pick up fully as expected.

"We are yet to see the fruits of a port facility that operates at its top maximum. The benefits accruing will be immense, and all and sundry shall benefit," he said.

Lamu is also a bestowed with prime agricultural land. A modest campaign to boost agricultural output is taking shape, with the growing of oil crops taking centre stage.

Oil crops are plants grown for their high oil content, including the common varieties like soybean, simsim, sunflower, palm, coconut and rapeseed, which are used for the manufacture of cooking oil and fuel production.

The oil crop occupies a substantial portion of agricultural land worldwide, thus highlighting its economic and environmental significance.

In Kenya, under the Edible Oil Crops Promotion Project (EOCPP), there is a deliberate move to increase domestic production by at least 50 per cent by 2028.

EOCPP is reportedly expanding cultivation areas to 200,000 acres, targeting counties like Busia and Homa Bay for oil palm and sunflower.

In Lamu, some 5000 sunflower, simsim and nut farmers are set to benefit from the launch and commissioning of a maiden edible oil processing plant in Mpeketoni, aimed at boosting their income through value addition during the processing stage of their harvest.

The factory was launched as a result of a collaboration between the Lamu County Government and the Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate (AFA) to install an edible oil processing machine that will create agricultural value addition and open new opportunities for farmers by boosting local production.

Lamu County CEC for Agriculture, Irrigation and Food Security, Mr James Gichu said the edible oil processing plant is a game changer that is likely to increase the capacity of farmers.

The plant will process sunflower, simsim, and peanuts through pressing, purification, packaging, and branding, thus enabling farmers to add value to their produce.

“With a capacity to process five tonnes per day, this innovation represents a huge leap forward from the previous 500 kilogrammes daily output that the farmers used to process manually before the introduction of the machine,” Gichu stated.

“This machine is a game-changer for our farmers. With the capacity to process up to five tonnes daily, we now have the ability to add real value to sunflowers, simsim, and peanuts grown here in Lamu, urging farmers to take advantage of the opportunity by planting more oil crops so that together we can maximise production and increase incomes,” said the county official.

Farmers would not add value to their crops by processing them into cooking oil, thus boosting their earnings and providing them with a more reliable source of income.

He further reiterated that the production of affordable, locally made edible oil will also help reduce the cost of living for Lamu residents, who have been dependent on imported edible oils.