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Let’s get back to our indigenous foods, Governor Mutula tells locals

Today, H.E Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr joined thousands of Makueni locals during the celebrations of the Akamba rich heritage majorly on indigenous foods.
The Governor encouraged a return to the consumption of the Akamba traditional food as a way of:
i.Appreciating the diversity and variety of our indigenous foods
and production processes;
ii. Creating an awareness on the rich nutritional value and healthy-living support capacity that our indigenous foods offer;
iii. Promote the uptake in production of indigenous food crops as a climate adaptation measure;
iv. Present an avenue for stakeholders in the indigenous food value chain to market and promote our foods.
and Demonstrating the commercial value of our indigenous foods;
He insisted that the Akamba culture must continue hence a need to look at ways of teaching the young people how to protect their culture.
 
 

H.E Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr on Friday morning attended Makueni Girls High School Thanksgiving and prize-giving day where he was event’s chief guest.

The school under Mary Irene Okoth, Chief Principal, in the last year’s KCSE examination produced 1-A (81 Points), 7 students had B+, several others getting direct entry into various Kenya’s top universities.
The governor promised to ensure the school gets enough water through equipping, distribution, and solarisation of a borehole recently sank by the County Government to provide a 24-hour water supply. The borehole will be producing 2.3 m3.

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.

PHYTODEPURATION FOR WOTE LEVEL V HOSPITAL LAGOONS.

The Department of Environment and Climate Change has commenced a Phytodepuration process, also known as natural treatment technique for the County Referral Hospital waste water lagoons, located near Shimo estate, Wote town.
 
This treatment involves planting of bamboo along the lagoons’ downward flow stream to act as a bio-filter of remnant toxins before the water is released to the nearby community for tree seedlings propagation and arrow roots cultivation.
 
The exercise, spearheaded by Environment and Climate Change Chief Officer Japheth Kiminza aims at ensuring 100 percent purification of the waste water through environmentally friendly mechanisms.

Governor presides over first-ever county enforcement officers pass out parade

H.E Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr on Thursday presided over the first-ever pass-out event for 48 Enforcement Officers at Unoa grounds, Wote, Makueni Sub-County.
The pass out followed a 4-week rigorous training at ATC Kwa Kathoka that involved; first aid, self-defense, customer service, and public relations among other skills.
During the ceremony, the governor expressed his administration’s commitment to recruiting more disciplined officers into the team.
H.E. the governor asked the officers to always work with dedication, and observe integrity while executing their roles.
 
 
 
 

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.

Well done, a Senate committee tells Governor Mutula for spurring development.

On Tuesday, the Senate Public Accounts Committee held a meeting with H.E Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr to Consider the Auditor-General’s Reports on the Financial Statements of the County Executive of Makueni for the Financial Year 2019/2020.
The committee led by vice chairperson Senator Samson Cherargei, Nandi, was thrilled by the governor’s efforts in ensuring the prudent use of resources and digitizing revenue collection exercise through the launch of the MyMakueni App.
Senators Fatuma Dullo (Isiolo) and Richard Onyonka (Kisii) termed Makueni as a benchmark County for a successful devolution story. Makueni’s Revenue collection has grown from sh. 749 million same periods last year to 780 million in the current year.

 

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.