Youths in Mwingi are returning to agriculture after failing to secure jobs. Kitui county government is training them in mango farming (see P 26).
The youths are also growing vegetables and chillies. At the end of their training, they will get a certificate from JKUAT.
This great initiative should be mirrored all across the country and extended even further.
The South East Asian tigers developed initially through their governments providing infrastructure and facilities in rural areas. This slowed down urban migration and created markets for local manufacturers who then grew rapidly.
The main cities in Kenya cannot productively absorb the future population of Kenya, which will reach 85 million in 2050. Jobs have to be created in rural areas, or in the trading centres that serve those rural areas.
The countryside needs to be electrified and receive high quality internet. Roads need to be properly paved or graded. And the youth need to be trained in jobs where they can make money - maybe as mango farmers but also as electricians, carpenters and mechanics serving the developing rural areas.
The future of Kenya lies in the countryside.
Quote of the day: “Action without thought is empty. Thought without action is blind."
Kwame Nkrumah
He became the first President of an independent Ghana on July 1, 1960
