West Pokot Governor John Longanyapuo on Tuesday unveiled 1,000 acre farm in Pokot Central, paving way to his manifesto towards improving food security in the hunger strike county.
Last month, a few deaths caused by hunger were reported in the Northern Kenya county even as Deputy President William Ruto dismissed the media reports.
And Prof Longanyapuo said the maize farm would be a stepping stone towards extending his farming projects across the county to improve food security.
"This is the 1,000 acre farm revived by the county government at Weiwei irrigation scheme in Pokot Central. The maize crop is flourishing. Irrigation is a key player in attaining food security unlike rain fed agriculture which solely relies on rainfall," he said.
West Pokot region has traditionally relied on relief food from both governments. At times, locals are forced to cross over to neighbouring Uganda in search of food and water for their animals.
But Longanyapuo has remained optimistic that such projects would improve food production in the region to reduce over reliance to government for food relief.
“As a county, we were aware drought hits this region yearly and we tried to put mitigation measures in place to reduce the severity of the drought,” he said.
Also affected by drought are neighbouring Baringo, Samburu, Turkana and Isiolo Counties. Governor Mike Sonko of Nairobi pitched tent in West Pokot last month for relief food distribution.