Nyeri county government will start agribusiness incubation parks to build skills of young people.
The new CEC for Agriculture, James Muturi, said this will attract more youths into agribusiness.
The average coffee farmer in Nyeri is about 62 years old, said the CEC, adding that this ought to change.
Bringing the youth on board and use of technology will enable the county get higher yield, he said.
“The youth are happy to venture in agriculture but it is only that we haven’t shown them the opportunities that are there,” he said.
He said the agribusiness incubation concept will be one of the ways to encourage the youth to get into the sector.
The new CEC spoke outside the governor’s office on Friday morning after taking oath of office following his vetting and approval by the county assembly.
The event took place in the governor’s office and the oath taking was presided over by Nyeri Chief Magistrate Wendy Kagendo and witnessed by governor Mutahi Kahiga.
The CEC expressed hope that the county will have true transformation in agriculture.
Nyeri farmers, he added, should not compete among themselves but with the international market.
“You are aware now we are living in times when we are expanding our economic borders. Now we have the East African community and I am sure many of you have seen that we are receiving agricultural products from other countries,” he said.
As a result, he said, Nyeri residents ought to change their way of thinking and doing things.
He pledged to put into practice the experience he has borrowed from different countries by focusing on value chains that are key in the county.
He named dairy, coffee, tea and aquaculture as some of the sectors that he will give more emphasis to.
The agriculture CEC post was left vacant after former CEC Henry Kinyua got a job with an international firm late last year.
