Farmers in Kisii County have been urged to adopt modern agricultural technologies to boost food income security.
Governor James Ongwae says the County Government has initiated a number of strategies among them adoption of new technologies like greenhouses and tissue culture banana farming to improve food security and economic well-being of farmers.
He said his Government will provide demonstration centres like the greenhouse training centre in all wards in bid to promote technology transfer and practical training for farmers within proximate distances.
Speaking at the Kisii Agricultural Training Center (ATC) during the county agricultural field day, Ongwae noted that greenhouses and open-drip irrigation are tried and tested ways of making agricultural production reliable by eliminating dependency on rain and significantly controlling pests and diseases.
“This has a net effect of increasing money to farmers while supporting food security and value addition,” said Ongwae who also launched the county greenhouse training center.
The Governor said the county has collaborated with Amiran Group to establish a centre of excellence at the ATC which will offer training on greenhouse farming.
The Governor was accompanied by his Deputy Joash Maangi, County Executive Committee members (CECs) Vincent Sagwe ( Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development, Peris Onsarigo (Administration, Corporate Services and Stakeholders Management), Sarah Omache (Health Services) among other officers.
He observed that it was the responsibility of the County Government to ensure food income security for its citizens adding that he is determined to make agriculture profitable through modernisation and venturing into agribusiness.
“Studies show that a tomato farmer can earn between KShs.200,000 and KShs.250,000 a season from one greenhouse. Green house technology makes possible the cultivation of important crops even when weather conditions are not favourable,” he said.
He said the Kisii County Science and Technical Park Bill, 2015 is before the County Assembly for debate adding that once passed, the bill will facilitate the establishment of a facility to promote and showcase research based technologies that can be used to achieve food security through sustainable agriculture. Other pieces of legislation before the County Assembly are the Kisii County Food Security Bill 2015 and the Cooperatives Bill.
“The recently concluded Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Nairobi showcased technology as a major economic driver particularly in agriculture. In our County, we are developing a state of art ICT laboratory at the Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) as part of the Science Park and work has already began. This laboratory will serve as an incubation centre for adoption of technology in all sectors of our economy and this goes to show that we are way ahead of other Counties in embracing ICT for development,” said Ongwae.
He further indicated that plans are underway to establish a County Retreat Centre at the ATC to provide conference and training facilities for staff, farmers and the general public.
“We are also constructing a value addition facility in this facility to cater for agro processing. Farmers delivering fruits and vegetables will be paid directly to eliminate the influence of the middlemen,” he said.
The event brought together farmers from all over the County, students from various learning institutions, research institutions, farm input manufacturers and suppliers, distributors and other actors in the agricultural sector.
The field day provided a conducive and interactive platform where stakeholders in the Agriculture sector exchanged views and experiences on production, value addition and marketing. It also created a platform for the county to showcase its agricultural transformation agenda for residents.
