More than 31,000 Kiambu farmers are to receive seeds and fertiliser worth Sh40 million from the county government.
This is in readiness for the short-rain planting season. The county bought 62 tonnes of high-quality maize seeds, 24 tonnes of beans and 310 tonnes of fertiliser for distribution to farmers identified by village-based advisers.
Speaking during the flagging off of the inputs, Kiambu Governor James Nyoro said it is part of his administration’s plan to boost food security going beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The maize seeds we are distributing to farmers will be ready for harvest at the end of December, while the beans will be ready at the beginning of December,” he said.
In August, farmers got cash boost of Sh130 million from a programme financed through the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project, a national government initiative funded by the World Bank for boosting their dairy, banana, indigenous chicken and Irish potato farming businesses.
The governor said that to complement the programme, the Kiambu government has since given farmers kienyeji chickens and was constructing an animal feed plant. The county government also plans to introduce fish farming and enhance dairy farming.
“We have a chicken farming project in which we have started giving farmers 10 chickens each,” Nyoro said.
The county boss also said his administration will strive to allocate 10 per cent of the county budget towards agricultural programmes in line with the Maputo Declaration of 2003, and in line with the agreement by the Council of Governors following a consultative meeting in Mombasa with the Senate at the weekend. Kiambu currently spends eight to nine per cent its budget on agriculture.
Also present was Agriculture executive Joseph Kamau and his chief officer Ndung’u Kamundia, assembly deputy speaker Philip Mubea, assembly Agriculture Committee chairman Mwai Mbugua (Nyanduma), among other leaders.
Early this month, women and youth engaging in farming benefitted from Sh2 billion Danish and European Union funding, according to Kenya Climate Innovation Centre Chief executive officer Edward Mungai.
The centre signed a memorandum of understanding with the county government to create a platform for youth and women empowerment through agribusiness.
A business incubation hub will be established under the five-year programme at the Waruhiu Agriculture Training Centre in Githunguri. It will be operational before the end of November.
"We are also in talks with the Rockefeller Foundation to develop a smart market for farm produce trade in Kiambu county,” the governor said.
