Democratic Party presidential candidate Justin Muturi has said that if elected he would revive the blue economy along Kenya’s coast and strive to make the region the country’s breadbasket.

Muturi, who is the Speaker of the National Assembly, said the region which has over 200 kilometers of coastline has remained neglected by subsequent governments since independence, making it permanently dependent on food aid.

Saïd Muturi: “It’s a shame that our coast is full of productive crops like coconut trees, yet we have to import raw materials for the production of cooking oil.

Muturi said everything should be done to revamp the agricultural sector on the coast which once produced sugar, bixa, various fruits and coconuts.

Muturi made the remarks in Ukunda town, Kwale County, where he held a public meeting with local political leaders.

The president repeated remarks made on Thursday evening in a live interview with Pwani FM, where he said Kenya needed to develop local agriculture to help stop reliance on imported raw materials.

“All of our cooking oil companies have to import raw materials like palm oil from Malaysia.

He called on government officials not to engage in cartel ventures which he said had taken the prices of agricultural inputs like fertilizer out of reach of the ordinary farmer.

If elected president, Muturi said, he would bankrupt these cartels in order to save farmers from their grip.

“Have you ever wondered how fertilizer goes through the port of Mombasa to Uganda, but in Kenya it costs three times more than in neighboring countries,” Muturi said.

He said he would go to many parts of the country to convince Kenyans why he is best placed to take the top spot.