Kirinyaga farmers will benefit from BT
cotton seeds donation from the American Government as Governor Anne Waiguru
hosts the US Ambassador to Kenya, Kyle McCarter.
The ambassador, who visited the governor
in her office in Kutus before proceeding on a tour to the county’s mass egg
production projects, said that 40 tons of BT cotton seeds will be given to
farmers to plant during this rainy season.
The government legalized commercial
cultivation of BT cotton last year after years of trial at Kenya Agricultural
and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) center in Mwea.
The ambassador said that cotton growing
presents enormous investment opportunity for farmers in the county since there
is huge shortage of supply of cotton in the textile industry in Kenya.
The two leaders discussed on areas of
mutual investment collaborations with the ambassador saying that America is now
focusing on the counties as a way of implementing impactful programs that will
reduce dependency on aid and move towards self-reliance.
He noted that the US government is now
moving towards more with the County governments since the devolved units are
nearer to the people and hence more accountable and accessible.
“I am a firm believer in devolution and
that is why we have visited Kirinyaga County which is endowed with great
resources that would form the basis of our mutual collaborations” he said.
Governor Waiguru said that Kirinyaga County
has many areas in which it can partner with the US in order to realize its
development agenda. She said that there exists enormous opportunity in the
agricultural sector but marketing of farm produce still remained a major
challenges.
She singled out coffee and rice as some
of the cash crops that have the potential of turning around the economy of the
county but farmers are still suffering due to lack of market or bureaucracies
around the marketing of their produce.
She noted that while the county produces
some of the best coffee in the world, farmers still earn meagre pay since they have
to sell through cooperatives and brokers.
She also said that her administration
has been supporting farmers in diversifying agricultural activities to reduce
overreliance on conventional cash crops such as tea and coffee, noting that the
bilateral talks explored on creating trading pacts between Kenya and America
whereby the latter can import rice that is grown in Mwea Rice plantations and
coffee.
The ambassador toured Wisdom Kathaka
Self Help Group in Kirinyaga Central Constituency which is involved in egg
production project and also chicken feeds factory at Kiaga.
At the same time the ambassador donated
117,000 re-usable masks to the County Government in efforts to support efforts to stop spread of Covid 19.
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