By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 20 May 2026 - The Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) has rolled out a large-scale sunflower planting programme at the Muhoroni Integrated Technology Transfer Centre (ITTC) in Kisumu County, targeting over 200 acres under production in a structured push to strengthen livestock feed systems and edible oil value chains across western Kenya.
The initiative signals a deliberate shift towards integrated agro-industrial development anchored on oilseed expansion, rural enterprise growth, and food security stabilisation.
The programme places sunflower at the centre of a dual-purpose strategy. On one hand, it is positioned as a critical input into livestock feed production through sunflower cake. On the other, it is being developed as a key raw material for edible oil processing, with the aim of reducing reliance on imports while expanding rural incomes. The framing is economic, but also structural. It is about systems, not seasons.
At the launch, the Managing Director of LBDA CPA Wycliffe Ochiaga outlined the rationale in direct and technical terms, describing sunflower as a “strategic transformation crop” for rural economies.
He said the initiative is not experimental but operational, built on tested agronomic systems and regional processing capacity. He emphasised that sunflower fits into a broader agricultural reorganisation that links production, processing, and markets within the same geographic corridor.
“The sunflower value chain is one of the most efficient agro-industrial pathways we can invest in at this stage,” the MD said.
“It directly connects the farmer to both livestock feed markets and edible oil processing. That dual demand structure is what makes it economically resilient.”
He explained that the cultivation model being promoted relies on improved seed varieties, precision planting, and strict alignment with seasonal rainfall patterns.
Ochiaga stressed that correct spacing, timely sowing, and soil fertility management through rotation systems are central to achieving yield stability.
According to him, sunflower performs particularly well in mixed farming systems where it is rotated with legumes and cereals to maintain soil structure and reduce pest pressure.
The MD noted that sunflower’s agronomic profile makes it particularly suitable for rural counties in western Kenya.
He pointed out its moderate input requirements, its tolerance to semi-arid conditions, and its relatively short maturity period. These factors, he said, reduce production risk for smallholder farmers who are often exposed to climate variability and price shocks in staple crop markets.
Ochiaga added that extension services will be central to the rollout. Farmers, he said, must be trained not only in cultivation but also in post-harvest handling. Moisture control during drying and storage was highlighted as a critical determinant of oil quality and market value.
Poor handling, he warned, can quickly erode profitability even where yields are high.
“The success of sunflower is not only in the field,” the MD said.
“It is in what happens after harvest. Drying, storage, aggregation, and transport determine whether the farmer earns premium value or loses it to inefficiency.”
He further emphasised the importance of aggregation structures such as cooperatives and farmer groups.
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These, Ochiaga said, are essential for achieving scale, stabilising supply, and strengthening bargaining power with processors. Without organised marketing systems, he cautioned, individual farmers risk remaining price takers in a volatile market.
The MD also linked the initiative to Kenya’s broader industrialisation agenda, noting that rural value addition is now a policy priority.
He said decentralised oil extraction units would help reduce transport costs, minimise post-harvest losses, and create rural employment opportunities.
Ochiaga described this as “industrialisation by proximity,” where processing follows production rather than the reverse.
He further pointed to the nutritional implications of sunflower oil, describing it as a healthier cooking alternative that can contribute to improved public health outcomes.
In his view, agricultural policy and nutrition policy are increasingly converging, particularly in edible oils where demand continues to outstrip local supply.
The LBDA initiative also reinforces the livestock sector, which remains a major economic pillar in the Lake Basin region. Sunflower cake, a by-product of oil extraction, is expected to reduce dependence on commercial feed inputs, thereby lowering production costs for dairy and poultry farmers.
This linkage between crop production and livestock systems is central to the programme’s design.
However, the success of the rollout will depend on execution capacity. Extension coverage, input supply chains, processing infrastructure, and market absorption will determine whether the 200-acre target becomes a scalable model or a contained pilot.
Agronomist Dr Paul Omanga note that Kenya’s agricultural transformation agenda has often faced bottlenecks at the post-harvest and marketing stages rather than production.
Still, the direction is clear. LBDA is betting on sunflower as a strategic entry point into agro-industrial transformation in western Kenya.
The crop is being repositioned from a secondary oilseed into a central economic driver within rural value chains. The seed is small. The ambition is systemic. The test will be delivery at scale.
LBDA initiative is good coming at a time when Kenyans are grappling with high cost of oil and production of sunflower seeds in bulk will help ease natural edible oil market supplies chain.
"This is the right thinking in terms of policy intervention. What LBDA has thought of is a good idea. Congratulations to the MD and LBDA management team," said one farmer William Owino. He said more such interventions should be spread across Nyanza and outlying areas going into the future.