• Kiambu government will continue to support farmers through distribution of hybrid maize seeds that mature in three months and funding youth groups involved in horticulture.
• This is the fifth time the farmer groups have received financing from the programme and more farmers are encouraged to form groups so that they can benefit.
Kiambu farmers involved in dairy, banana, potato and chicken value chains have benefited from a Sh39 million financial boost.
The farmers from Kikuyu, Limuru, Gatundu South and North and Lari subcounties got the funding through micro-project proposals to Community Driven Development Committee and producer organisations.
This is a programme being undertaken through the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project, a national government initiative funded by the World Bank, with additional funding from the county.
Governor James Nyoro on Monday said his government will continue to support food and nutrition security and income generation to farmers through the distribution of hybrid maize seeds that mature in three months and funding youth groups involved in horticulture.
"From Kiambu, Githunguri to Gatundu South and North, farmers should be ready as the county government has seeds worth Sh70 million that will be distributed this year," Nyoro said in Kiambu.
He said that through the village-based advisory model that the county has adopted, they have helped farmers in practising best farming methods to get high yields.
"The county has recruited 1,000 village-based advisers in agriculture, who are volunteers and we plan to add more to reach at least 2,000 so that they can reach out to half a million farmers in giving relevant advice on which seeds to plant for better yields and produce," the governor said.
Nyoro added that this is the fifth time the farmer groups have received financing from the programme. He encouraged others to form groups so that they can also benefit.
Agriculture executive Joseph Kamau said the NARIGP programme is a five-year project that is supposed to end late next year and all proposals approved by the World Bank would be supported and completed.
"The final stage of NARIGP project is the multi-community investments which are two: Kamwamba irrigation project supporting potato value chain and Limuru dairy supporting the milk value chain," Kamau said.
He added that the programme has been rolled out in 20 wards out of 60 in the county and the CDDCs will manage the common interest groups that have been funded.
"The 20 CDDCs are managing 81 farmers groups who are involved in the food value chain that is the dairy, chicken, potato and bananas. This being the sixth time to disburse funds to the farmers, we have disbursed about Sh300 million to farmers from the programme. Through the county funding, the amounts have reached over half a billion shillings," Kamau said.
The governor, however, said that to complement the programme, the county government has started giving farmers kienyeji chickens, constructing an animal feed plant and enhancing dairy farming.
Additionally, fish farming will also be introduced.
Edited by EKibii