Garissa supports innovators to boost crop, livestock productivity

Garissa government has supported 16 value chain actors through innovation grants to increase crop and livestock productivity. 

Livestock chief officer Isnini Rage said the grants will increase efficiency, reduce the cost of production and involve youths and women in value chain activities. 

Rage said they will ensure the programme is climate-smart for the value chain actors involved in tomato, camel milk, meat and beef production.

She spoke on Saturday at the Garissa Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme office during the handing over of the tools to some of the beneficiaries. 

The chief officer said the programme office received 64 innovation proposals that were vetted and 16 prioritised for the first batch of the implementation. 

In 2017, Garissa Governor Ali Korane signed a partnership programme with the national coordination unit of the project funded by the county and national government, the Swedish Embassy and the European Union.

The donors contribute based on the number of trigger funds pumped in by the county to implement the project.

Rage said the programme is expected to stimulate innovation and contribute towards long term economic growth in urban and rural areas.

“Some of the already engaged value chain groups are using equipment such as solar-powered pumps in their farms to increase productivity and reduce the cost of productivity,” she said.

Project coordinator Hared Hambe said the county government is expected to pump more trigger funds into the project that ends soon for a larger number to benefit from the programme. 

He said the beneficiaries will be economic agents within the county and improve networking with other like-minded partners to make Garissa self-sufficient in food production.

He said the five-year programme was expected to end this financial year and was hopeful that all partners will partly contribute towards its successful implementation.

Some of the beneficiaries include Towfiq camel milk self-help group, Naim Camel milk value chain, Afweiyne Maendeleo youth group and Maalimin usafi help group.

Others are Hegan Beef farm, Dujis farm group, Saka youth and women group, Iskashata youth and women groups, Saka milk marketing group, Wadajir farm and Kasha youth for peace among others.

The groups received motorbikes, solar pumps and panels, solar-powered freezers, digital weighing machines, stainless butchers hooks, assorted meat bone cutters.

Other tools were generators fencing barbed wire, locally fabricated hay balkers, grass and crops seeds, knapsack sprayers among others.

Beneficiaries appreciated the county government and other partners.

They said the programme will greatly impact their livelihood.

“This solar pump will reduce my cost of buying diesel fuel for my tomato crop and will save enough money for other domestic uses,”  Mohamud Abdullahi chairman of Wadajir farm in Jarirot said.

The trained groups received development plans to boost their business.

Edited by Kiilu Damaris