Farmers in Bahati have been urged to embrace modern technology in farming in order to improve productivity. Bahati Sub-County Agricultural Commissioner Wycliffe Masika told the farmers to shift from traditional forms of farming and embrace technology especially in dairy and agribusiness because they stood to lag behind by continuously practicing traditional methods. He was speaking at Bahati Primary School on Friday when he launched an Artificial Insemination Services centre under government sponsorship. Masika said that the Kenya Agricultural Productivity Programme had so far helped millions of farmers in the country improve their yields during its first phase and encouraged local farmers to take advantage of the same. “The government has so far spent Sh10 million in the first phase of this programme where farmers pay a third of the service price. The programme secretariat has also so far trained over 1000 artificial inseminators and deployed them across the country. It is upon farmers to realize the benefits they will gain from the programme,’’said Masika. He added that the government will set up more AI centres to empower farmers shift from traditional agricultural practices. Under the programme farmers are allowed to pay Sh700 per artificial insemination service while the government pays the rest of the total Sh2,000 charged.

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