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Year: 2019

Sunflower Farming in Makueni

Makueni farmers to reap millions from Sunflower growing

Thousands of Makueni farmers are looking at better days growing sunflower with a ready and almost insatiable market provided by Bidco company limited.

Through contract farming, Bidco has partnered with Makueni County and Safaricom through use of a mobile based app, Digifarm, through which farmers get agronomical advise, credit facilities and all the necessary extension services on their mobile phone.

The journey towards sunflower production in the County began in November 2018 when Bidco through DigiFarm Contracted 640 farmers to plant the crop as a pilot project.

According to Governor Kivutha Kibwana, the pilot project covered 941ha, harvesting 941 metric tons of sunflower seed valued at about Shillings 35 million.

Purchase of this produce was flagged off at Kathonzweni by governor Kibwana, Safaricom’s Director of Enterprises Business Rita Okuthe, and Bidco head of Agribusiness John Kariuki on Thursday.

Kariuki announced that Makueni has been identified as a model county for sunflower seed growing in the country where those aspiring to venture into the business will come for bench marking.

Out of the 10,000 metric tonnes of sunflower seeds demand by Bidco annually, Makueni has been allocated a 2,000 quota by the company, a motivator to the local farmers to take up its production.

To spur uptake of the crop, Kibwana has said that the county has recruited 75 extension officers trained on using the Digifarm platform in farmer service delivery and equipped with 75 mobile smart phones to enable adoption of the platform by the extension officers.

Another 33 tablets have been sourced for supervisors.

He said begining March, the county has kicked off Soil testing activity at a subsidized cost of Shillings 300 to the farmers. The soil test gives a detailed report after 5 minutes.

Makueni Pens Deal with Heifer International to fight hunger

Makueni County has inked a three-year partnership deal with Heifer International, a United States non-profit Corporation with presence in Kenya, to fight hunger and poverty in the county.

The deal aims at creating a framework for joint agricultural value chains development with key focus on dairy, poultry and beef value chains.

According to Heifer International Country Director George Odhiambo, the partnership will seek to leverage on modern methods of livestock development geared towards increased farmer incomes.

Some of the specific areas of partnerships include Research; Farmer trainings and capacity building; Linkage with financial services; Facilitating access to appropriate Technologies; Facilitating access to markets and Collecting, analyzing and monitoring data for decision making.

The two entities will also utilize the local field extension systems to build the capacity of producer organizations and farmers to effectively integrate all factors of crop and animal production which includes breeding, water access, feeds, milk quality, animal health, farmer training and access to financing.

Governor Kivutha Kibwana who signed the MoU on behalf of the County government said it will assist in technology transfer through the county borrowing from Heifer’s Values Based Holistic Community Development (VBHCD) model.

He said the deal will go a long way in creating jobs for youths, women while improving rural economies.

Agriculture ECM Lawrence Nzunga who witnessed the signing said the county is in the process of establishing a poultry abattoir at Kitise and the partnership will enable its successful roll out and sustainability.

6th Annual Devolution Conference

Governor Kivutha Kibwana and deputy Adelina Mwau join other governors and Food and Agricultural Organization officials in the launch of the “Counties That Matter” food programme, a partnership between counties and FAO.

This programme seeks to build sustainable food systems in counties as part of driving the food security aspect of the Big Four Agenda spearheaded by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The launch took place on Wednesday during the 6th Annual Devolution Conference staged at Kirinyaga University, Kirinyaga county.

President Kenyatta commends Makueni’s Value Addition initiatives

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday lauded Makueni for its life changing value addition initiatives geared towards uplifting the standards of living for its citizens.

The president was awestruck by the County’s empowerment programmes aimed at wealth creation when he visited its exhibition booth at the 2019 Devolution Conference, staged at Kirinyaga University.

The head of state purchased carvings worth Ksh 30,000 from Makueni exhibitors.

Kenyatta was hosted at the Makueni booth by Governor Kivutha Kibwana alongside the county exhibitors.

Makueni, GVRC hold sensitization fora to address Gender Based Violence in the county

The County Government of Makueni in partnership with Gender Violence Recovery Centre(GRVC) of Nairobi Women’s Hospital on Monday kicked off gender based violence sensitization program in a bid to address sexual and other forms of GBV in the county.

This is in accordance to a Memorandum of Understanding which was signed by the two parties last month to partner to develop, promote and strengthen joint actions and collaboration towards prevention and response to GBV within Makueni County.

The sensitization program which will run in every sub-county across the county is targeting duty bearers and anti-GBV champions in every ward in order to capacity build them.

Speaking during the forum, Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau said that the county is in the forefront in the fight against GBV which is on increase adding that they were going to bring on board all key stakeholders in order to effectively address the issue.

“GBV cases have increased tremendously and as we fight it, we are planning to bring on board other key stakeholders so that we can work together towards addressing this sensitive issue. It is so shocking that in January we had 21 cases of pregnancies for school going girls in Kibwezi only,” Mwau stated.

Kibwezi-East Sub-County Education Director Kennedy Machora said that they were working closely with all relevant bodies to ensure that all perpetrators of GBV are brought to book.

The county government has established a Makueni Gender Based Recovery Center at Wote Referral hospital to enhance comprehensive management of GBV services and strengthen functional referral mechanisms.

  • February 25, 2019 in News

Government to Fast track implementation of Thwake Dam, says CS

Cabinet Secretary for Water and Sanitation Simon Chelugui has said his ministry will push the contractor undertaking construction of Thwake dam to fast track its implementation and recover lost time.

According to the CS, 11 months into the signing of the contract with China Gezhouba Group, the contractor, only 7.2 percent of civil works against an expected 19 percent has been achieved so far.

Chelugui said the ministry will ensure fast tracking of the project implementation so that it is completed within the 56 months contract period.

The CS spoke on Wednesday when he, accompanied by governors Kivutha Kibwana, Alfred Mutua and Charity Ngilu toured the dam site to asses the implementation progress and address any emerging issues.

The three governors protested delaying of the distribution of domestic water component, insisting that it should be done simultaneously or immediately the Dam is done as the region is highly water stressed.

At least  a volume of 60 Million litres of treated water from the dam will be reserved for domestic use in both Kitui and Makueni (Wote, Kathonzweni and Kibwezi).

The governors also insisted on the adherence to the local-local Sub-contracting as agreed where contractors from the three counties would be given priority, with a list of pre-qualified ones shared with the contractor and the ministry.

USAID hands over plant to local farmers to enhance milk processing

Kathonzweni dairy farmers on Friday were handed over a milk processing plant that will help in enhancing milk processing in the area and the county at large.

The plant which has a capacity to pasteurize 1000 litres of milk per hour is a project courtesy of a partnership between the County Government of Makueni and USAID through the International Livestock and Research Institute(ILRI).

According to the Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society chairman Stephen Kyonda, the plant is a step towards achieving their vision of being the leading in producing quality and quantity milk in Ukambani.

“Guided by our vision of being the leading Dairy Cooperative Society in producing quality and quantity milk in Ukambani, we have no doubt that this plant is not at the right place,” Kyonda stated.

Chief of Party ILRI Dr Romano Kiome who graced the handover ceremony urged the farmers to increase the membership of the cooperative in order to have steady supply of milk to the plant for meaningful processing.

Kiome further said that the handover was meant to have the farmers manage the plant and ensure its full operations before the official commissioning scheduled in few weeks’ time.

Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau called for prudent management of the cooperative for maximum benefit to the farmers.

She also urged the farmers to take advantage of the free artificial insemination services offered by the county government in order to increase yields of milk.

SEKEB Courts USAID for Development Partnerships

The South Eastern Kenya Economic Bloc (SEKEB) is seeking to partner with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to leverage on its resources for the region’s development.

SEKEB top leadership under the chairmanship of ABC Archbishop Timothy Ndambuki, governor Kivutha Kibwana, speakers Douglas Mbilu, Florence Mwangangi and majority leaders from the three counties on Thursday held a consultative meeting with the agency’s Country and East Africa Mission director Mark Meassick to deliberate on possible partnerships.

The meeting, also attended by other top ranking USAID officials, was held at Bomani ABC Church grounds in Machakos.

According to Meassick, USAID invests over $450Million in Kenya annually, and is ready to partner with SEKEB as a co-creator targeting wealth creation especially in Agriculture, water development, health and climate change resilience building.

Meassick said USAID is seeking to take advantage of the devolution system of governance to enhance closer relations with County governments geared towards a transformative development agenda.

Governor Kibwana said SEKEB is in the process of establishing a framework that would guide the shared development partnerships among the member counties and as well with development partners. 

Kenya-Korea partnership to see advanced institute of science and technology established in Konza city

The Government of Kenya is set to establish a new institute in Konza Technopolis; Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology(Kenya-KAIST) modelled after the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology(Korea-KAIST), the world’s leading science and technology University.

According to Chief Administrative Secretary and Principal Secretary State of Department for University Education and Research Prof Collette A. Suda, the institute aims to produce highly qualified scientists and engineers with both theory and practical knowledge for the future industry in Kenya and East Africa Region.

She spoke on Tuesday when she gave her key note address at Konza City during the institute’s architectural and curriculum design development kick off ceremony.

“I am happy about this milestone because the institute is going to transform the economy of our country through science, technology and innovation as well as change the face of this country through men and women who will come out of the institute and transform Kenya like it has transformed the Korean economy,” Suda said.

She further added that the production of the well-trained graduates in Science and Technology will contribute to knowledge based economy and sustainable growth with innovation.

The National government through the Ministry of Education has partnered with a Consortium of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, SAMOO Architects and Engineering Company Limited and SUNJIN Engineering and Architecture Company Limited, who were competitively selected according to Konza Technopolis Development Authority CEO Eng. John Tanui, to undertake the architectural and curriculum design for the university.

Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau who attended the kick off ceremony assured all stakeholders support from the Counties of Kajiado, Makueni and Machakos adding that residents from those neigbouring counties will be among the immediate beneficiaries.

“We promise you our full support in actualizing this university because it will first benefit our people from Kajiado, Makueni and Machakos counties,” Mwau stated.

By 2030, Konza City will generate close to 20,000 jobs with positions filled by Konza Technopolis University Campus graduates as well as Kenyans and experts relocating to live and work in the city.

500 Makueni girl students to benefit from Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Career Mentorship

At least 500 girls from six secondary schools in Makueni will benefit from a one year mentorship and skills development in a bid to take up Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and careers.

The mentorship programme is courtesy of a project dubbed GIRLS IN STEM launched on Monday at Mbooni Girls National School through a partnership between Youth and Success Association (YASA) and the Government of Makueni County.

The project will involve outstanding professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) interacting with girl students in form two in an intensive career mentorship to encourage and support them to achieve their full potentials in STEM.

According to Mildred Mudany, the Chief Executive Officer Help Reach Africa, who holds a PhD in Tropical Medicine, the project aims to achieve among others: Ensure higher participation and leadership of girls and Women on STEM; To open up well paying career opportunities for girls and women; To build self confidence among girls and women; Increase awareness and participation of girls and women in STEM and Innovation as well as increase the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 17)

The project was launched during an occasion to celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in STEM, and was graced by among others: Governor Kivutha Kibwana, County First Lady Nazi Kivutha, KenGen Chief Quality Engineer Catherine Nyambala.

As we celebrate women and girls in STEM, we have come to stimulate interest from the earliest years, to combat stereotypes and engage girls across the County, in the nation and globally to pursue STEM careers and to mentor our girls and young women to change mindsets towards the STEM career”, said governor Kibwana.