WAIGURU TO REVITALIZE AGRICULTURE TRAINING CENTRES FOR FARMERS TO LEARN BEST PRACTICES.

The Mountain Journal

Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru plans to revitalize Kamweti Agricultural Training Center into a center of excellence for farmers and students to learn the best agricultural practices.

The plans will see Kamweti ATC transformed into an institution recognized countrywide as a benchmarking center for best farming practices where farmers will get quality seeds and the best training on farming.

Speaking during the annual farmers’ field day, County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture, Livestock, Veterinary, and Fisheries Dr. John Gachara who represented the governor during the official opening of the mini agricultural show said that the county would pump in more money into the institution so as to expand its capacity.

He said the field day was meant as a way to bring together, farmers across the County so as to educate them on the latest best farming practices.

“We bring farmers from across the County so that they can learn the newest farming technologies and practices from our researchers and experts. We want farmers to embrace these technologies so that we can address issues of food security, especially in times of drought like what we are currently experiencing,” said Gachara.

The field day has brought together farmers, researchers, experts, students, and exhibitors from various value chains, cooperative societies, and manufacturers of agricultural inputs.

Gachara said the first day of the exhibition was attended by approximately 600 farmers.

The show is being held under the theme, ‘To Improve Food Security through Value Addition’.

The farmers were educated on various forms of diversification to ensure that their pieces of land are fully utilized.

"We have been educated on the different ways to make use of our farms and not grow just one crop, to ensure that we always have food. We are grateful to the County Government for organizing this forum and we would want them to be doing it more often,” said Nancy Wanjiru, one of the farmers who had attended the event.

Agriculture is the economic main day for the people of Kirinyaga.

 Through the Wezesha Program, Governor Waiguru’s focus for the next five years is on sustainability and commercializing agriculture by leveraging on innovations and technologies for aggregation, agro-processing, and export-oriented value addition through organized value chain-based farmers groups to form cooperative societies.

 The County Government supports farmers through initiatives such as training and establishing of various value chains.

Governor Waiguru says the planned setup of the Sagana Industrial Park will be a game changer as it will attract investors and open up diverse opportunities, especially for the youth and professionals of Kirinyaga County.

Kirinyaga County has many opportunities that can be exploited by investors who want to venture into manufacturing and agro-processing.

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