Farmers in Uasin Gishu are ditching large scale maize growing and embracing other high value crops following a sustained three-year diversification campaign by Governor Jackson Mandago.
The farmers have been receiving free seedlings for coffee, macadamia, fruits and other cash crop in the campaign by the county government to have them shift from decades of profitless maize growing.
The diversification programme dubbed “Kilimo Biashara” is bearing fruit as more than 2,000 maize growers have made the shift.
Speaking when he flagged off lorries ferrying seedlings to be distributed to farmers in Kapsaret, Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno said they are tired of the region being referred to as a bread basket yet farmers are poor because of the loses they make through maize farming.
“Our region is no longer interested in being referred to as the grain basket of Kenya. We now want to be the money basket and that is why we are teaching our farmers to go for other crops through which they will earn better,” he said.
Chemno said the county will continue to distribute free seedlings for the high value crops and educate farmers on the need to diversify from maize farming.
He however, said some farmers who were used to decades of maize growing were reluctant to grow other crops.
“Such farmers should know that they were not made by God to only grow maize. God put us human beings to be in charge of all animals and crops and not only maize,” Chemno said.
Mandago who separately toured Turbo subcounty said they had given strict conditions to beneficiaries of the free seedlings.
He said beneficiaries should ensure the seedlings survive so that the funds spent on the project do not go to waste.
"Every seedling goes for Sh30, but a farmer whose seedling will wither because of poor management will be asked to pay up to 10 times the cost and will have to replace all the withered seedlings," the governor said.
Mandago said farmers who embraced diversification were already reaping big from the venture.
He urged farmers to embrace planting of the high value crops saying this will improve their household incomes.
Farmers in the region produced more than 40 million bags of maize last year but the sector has been dogged by poor marketing and low prices. This has been worsened by the opening of border trade with neighbouring countries like Tanzania leading to maize imports.
-Edited by SKanyara
