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Agriculture

A New Dawn for Coffee Farmers in Makueni

New Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (New KPCU) is seeking to collaborate with Makueni county government to upscale the coffee sector in the county.
Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr on Monday hosted a high powered delegation from New KPCU to discuss areas of partnership to revamp the sector. The areas include;
• Sensitization and enrolment of coffee farmers to the cherry fund. Makueni coffee farmers are eligible for up to Sh 11 Million worth of cherry fund. The application by farmers for the fund will commence early next month.
• Establishment of a coffee nursery and a demonstration farm,
• Capacity build farmers on best farm practises to increase coffee yield per acre,
• Capacity build coffee Cooperatives Societies on governance and leadership to improve resource management, and
• Linkage to processing, value addition and markets.

Governor Mutula announces digital registration of farmers for better service delivery

H.E Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr has announced that the County Government is targeting to register over 166,000 farming households across the 30 wards.
The exercise is set to be carried out by Local Ward Based enumerators bound to be recruited.
The County has already placed an advert for 503 positions where youth have been encouraged to apply for the opportunities with application forms available at the County Website with 24th August 2023 set as deadline.
Mutula spoke this during the burial of Philip Nzembi, a former teacher and a Councillor at Mutwii Village,Kikima, in Mbooni Sub – County.

Faith Mumo Cuts Niche in Agripreneurship

The sky is not the limit for Faith Mumo, a young vibrant agripreneur after she hosted a ground breaking ceremony to pave the way for the construction of ‘BEFA FEEDS’ animal feed processing factory to boost her daily processing capacity.
 
Faith is currently processing 10 Metric Tons of assorted feeds monthly at a rented small facility and is targeting to process 50 Metric Tons hence the need for a bigger premise.
 
Her agribusiness journey began while serving as an intern at the Makueni County Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, livestock and Fisheries Development, based at the ATC- Kwakathoka, where she received mentorship.
 
While at ATC, Faith also learned about fingerlings production and mango value addition which she is also practicing at the family Iviani farm in Muvau- Kikumini ward.
She has employed 40 other young people and she is an inspiration to the young generation that agribusiness is a lucrative venture.
 
The ground breaking ceremony was graced by Agriculture Executive Joyce Mutua, Makueni County Assembly Speaker Douglas Mbilu and other senior county officials on Wednesday at kwakathoka shopping center.

Makueni Dairy and Apiculture Farmers to Receive Support from the World Bank

Makueni farmers have prioritized the dairy and apiculture(bee-keeping) value chains to receive financial support for market access and value addition under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP)-a new World Bank-funded project.
In the just concluded 2-day public participation process to select two additional value chains to be considered for funding by the World Bank, dairy and apiculture value chains were adopted by the farmers.
 
NAVCDP is a scale-up of NARIGP, and its overall goal is to increase market participation and enhance value addition for smallholder farmers who are either in transition or have transitioned from subsistence to commercial farming.
 
According to the majority of the farmers, in a list of seven value chains, dairy and apiculture have the highest growth potential in both domestic and export markets. The value chains also have the highest potential for expansion in productivity in the county.
 
Other criteria for value chain selection included the potential for inclusivity of the vulnerable groups and nutrition sensitivity.
 
The countywide public participation exercise was spearheaded by the County Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock, Fisheries, and Cooperative Development.

Local Farmers Reaping Big through the Adoption of New Technologies in Farming

Over 70% of Makueni farmers supported through the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP) have adopted at least one Technology Innovation and Management Practices (TIMPs) in agricultural production, County Livestock and Cooperative Development Director David Musyoki has revealed.
While interacting with the project County Technical Advisory Committee (CTAC) members, during their 3-day field visits and backstopping exercise, various farmers shared their success  stories of improved livelihoods after adopting best agriculture practices.
 
According to Musyoki, who also chairs CTAC, the committee is responsible for technical advice and quality assurance at the county level.
Many farmers say are now able to afford school fees for their children as well as feed their families during these hard economic  times. These, they attributed to new technologies that have increased production and profitability in agriculture.
 
Some of the TIMPs adopted by farmers are simple chicken feeds formulation and improved feeding, serial hatching, conservation agriculture and mechanization.
 
Others include Integrated Pest Management, climate-smart agronomics practices, flock health management , harvest and post–harvest management.
 
The adoption of new technologies by farmers is expected to shoot up, with the inception of Saccos in the project to assist them access affordable financial resources.

Makueni Farmers to Receive Financial Boost through Saccos.

The Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development in partnership with the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP) has embarked on an ambitious plan to register Saccos in a bid to assist farmers access affordable credits and put more profits in their pockets.
 
Through the Saccos, farmers will be able to access financial resources to boost their productivity and profitability.
 
According to Agriculture chief officer Daniel Ndolo, limited access to financial resources has been a major setback to farmers’ ability to adopt agriculture investments
 
In the new plan, the county government through the department is targeting to form and register a Sacco in each of the 30 wards across the county. So far, 7 Saccos are already legally established, with 6 of them having elected management and supervisory committees in place.
 
The management and supervisory committees’ members of the 6 Saccos underwent  induction training last week, in a bid to equip them with the necessary skills to run and manage the Saccos effectively.
 
The 7 Saccos are in the following  wards; Tulimani, Kako/Waia Masongaleni, Kilome, Thange, Kikumbulyu North and South and Kitise/Kithuki.
 
Once all the Saccos are automated and operational, they will receive a boost startup grant of upto Sh. 1 Million through the NARIGP project.
 
The county government is now calling upon farmers to join Saccos in large numbers so as to benefit maximally in agriculture production and profitability.

Regenerative Agriculture for improved food security

With the adverse effects of climate change, especially in Ukambani, many farmers are glaring at looming food insecurity.
 
However, this is not the case for 180 farmers drawn from various wards in Makueni County, who have adopted Regenerative Agriculture (RA), through , ‘ Strengthening Regenerative Agriculture in Kenya’, an ongoing program that is being spearheaded by the County Government of Makueni through the department of Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock Fisheries and Cooperative Development in partnership with  Alliance for Green Revolution Africa  (AGRA) and Cereal Growers Association ( CGA).
Regenerative Agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that seeks to rehabilitate and enhance the entire ecosystem of the farm by placing a heavy premium on soil health with attention also paid to water management, fertilizer use, and more.
The 180 farmers who are also the Village Based Advisors( VBA)have been capacity built through training, peer to peer activities and farm demonstrations on RA principles.
Some of the principles include conservation tillage, minimum soil disturbance, rotation and crop covers, and diversity.
 
The VBAs are in turn cascading the RA knowledge to other farmers at the village levels, with an aim of enhancing food security at household levels.
 
The program is targeting to reach out to 30, 000 farmers directly through the VBA extension model.

The sky is now the limit for Huruma Women Group, a vibrant group of entrepreneurs in Kibwezi Town.

The sky is now the limit for  Huruma Women Group, a vibrant group of entrepreneurs in Kibwezi Town, after receiving Hybrid Solar-Biomass Mango drier unit from the Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme Phase Two (ASDSP II). 
The programme which is supported by Makueni County government is designed to boost their daily processing capacity.
The group adds value to horticultural produce such as vegetables and fruits through drying them and is now calling upon local farmers to take up full-time agricultural activities especially indigenous foods and vegetables, as their outfit is a ready market and locally accessible.

Makueni’s Efforts to Power Small and Midsize Enterprises among the Marginalized Groups.

A big problem in the current agricultural sector in the country are high prices for animal/chicken feeds due to high protein prices.
 
The Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development in partnership with Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme Phase Two (ASDSP II) has supported innovative ideas with prospects to women and youth in the priority value chains namely; indigenous chicken, mango and green grams.
Edwin Sila of Nguu-Masumba Ward is one of the beneficiaries of such ASDSP II-funded innovations. He now uses Black Soldier Fly Production and Harvesting unit (BSF), to produce protein-rich feed without having to buy expensive indigenous chicken feed.
 
The usage of the black soldier flies larvae as feed would decrease the cost of chicken feed for farmers and can lead to a more food-secure economy.
In the mango value chain, the Makueni County Fruit Processors Cooperative Society Limited, from Wote-Nziu Ward has also received mango de-sapping pallets to improve the quality of the produce for export.
 
The two innovations were commissioned on Wednesday by Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development Chief Officer Dr. Victoria Kyalo accompanied by ASDSP II Coordinator Regina Maingi.

2000 Ukia Farmers Adopt Hass Avocado as their New Green Gold.

Over 2000 farmers drawn from Ukia ward in Kaiti Sub-County are beneficiaries of graft avocado scions  (Hass variety), courtesy of the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development, Makueni County.
The initiative, a product of public participation, is geared towards supporting the farmers to increase productivity and profitability in the avocado value chain. The program also aims to enhance market access and business linkages to the farmers.
The Hass avocado is a new variety that has been scientifically modified through grafting to significantly reduce its maturity period to between 2.5 years and 3 years from the typical period of 6 to 7 years.
According to Agriculture Chief Officer Daniel Ndolo, Hass Avocado is the new goldmine for modern farmers and urged farmers to plant more avocadoes.
 
This is because Hass-avocado does not require much labor and time to maintain. In addition, the demand for avocados is extremely high and can’t satisfy the current local demand and in the European countries.
 
Ndolo spoke on Tuesday at Kilala Chief’s Office where he launched the scions distribution exercise and handed over the scions to 15 grafters, who have been trained and will offer the grafting services to the earmarked farmers.
The County has so far distributed close to 60,000 improved Hass variety seedlings to farmers in the avocado growing areas and is at the forefront to transform the avocado value chain into a robust economic enterprise to impact positively on the livelihoods of the community.