Kwale county has continuously made strides in increasing food production since the onset of devolution, Agriculture executive Joanne Nyamasyo has said.
Nyamasyo said various agricultural programmes by the county and national government have empowered local farmers towards farming.
She said the introduction of projects such as the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth has assisted farmers embark on several agricultural activities.
NARIGP project was started in 2015 and seeks to equip local farmers with basic knowledge in sustainable food production and improve livelihoods through agribusiness.
Nyamasyo said the use of certified high yielding seeds, access to modern farming methods and financing farmers has seen Kwale’s food growth rise significantly.
“I can’t tell to what percentage has the food increased but before, our farmers lacked basic skills of doing serious farming and thanks to the new technology crops are now doing well,” Nyamasyo said.
She added that farmers can now produce over 22 sacks of maize per acre unlike before when it was just five bags.
Some of the skills given are crop management, rotational cropping and type of crops to grow in terms of the environment and seasons.
The county had launched a project of distributing free certified seeds, ploughing, fertiliser and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills.
It has also bought harvesting and food processing equipment such as maize shelling machines and installed them in various wards to enable farmers have a quick harvest of their crops.
Kwale government allocated Sh307 million to help farmers to improve farming and boost food production.
Areas such as Kinango and Samburu that have for years relied on relief food, now have stable food production.
About 70, 000 people were severely hit by drought at the beginning of 2019 in the county.
Lunga Lunga and Kinango subcounties residents were most affected, according to the National Drought Management Authority.
Nyamasyo said the irrigation systems prompted by the county through dams and water pans constructions has helped revive agricultural sector.
She said by 2022 the county would be able to produce surplus food and end the food relief dependency.
