NYANDARUA, Kenya, Jan 22 – The Nyandarua County Government is holding negotiations with the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) company to explore ways of supplying potatoes to the multinational firm.
This follows an incident earlier this month where the food chain announced it had run out of imported potatoes and substituted chips with alternatives such as ugali in its menu.
The move elicited public out cry with many faulting the multinational for abandoning local farmers who produce potatoes.
In a change of heart however, KFC’s Chief Executive Officer Jacques Theunissen and Governor Francis Kimemia agreed on a framework “that will rope in farmers in the potato supply” as the firm starts to purchase pre-booked frozen potatoes by the end of the year.
This will be in strict compliance with the internationally set standards that will see the franchise maintain its quality while farmers in Nyandarua improve on their potato farming and storage practices.
The County Government and KFC agreed to establish a joint technical committee to thrash out issues with the next engagement expected next Wednesday.
After the meeting, KFC committed to facilitate a meeting between potential processors and Nyandarua Farmers with the aim of attaining the standards required.
On January 4,the food chain had issued a notice in its outlets and online advising customers to choose the substitutes such as ugali, coleslaw, snack buns, cobs, extra chicken.
“Fam it was truly a Furaha December. Mlikula sherehe with your KFC faves. Ya’ll loved our chips a little too much, and we’ve run out,” KFC had tweeted.
“Sorry! Our team is working hard to resolve the issue. In the meantime here are some SWAP options for combo meals if you are craving our Kuku.”
