The County Government of Nakuru is keen on strengthening agricultural cooperative movements to help farmers market their produce.
Governor Lee Kinyanjui said the cooperatives would also help farmers get training and support in organised groups.He added that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries has started a profiling process to identify needy farmers who will benefit from the avocado, pyrethrum, and dairy subsidy programmes.He said the county will engage established farmers to use their enterprises as model farms where farmers can learn modern farming methods.“80 percent of our county is arable and we must shift to modern farming methods for sustainability,” the Governor said while officiating a farmers’ field day at Ihindu in Naivasha East.Research has shown that use of the right technology improves food production by over 30 percent.He pointed out that in the next financial year, the county will factor in money for extension services to improve their mobility.County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries Dr Immaculate Maina said the county is setting up a call center where farmers can make inquiries on pests and diseases as well as proper farming methods.She noted that the region was producing vegetables in large quantities only to be transported to Mombasa and Kisumu yet there were ready markets in the area.“The Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) in Gilgil has a vegetable processing factory and have requested the county to empower and make farmers aware of the opportunity,” she stated.Dr Maina noted that farmers in Kuresoi were selling their produce to KDF through their local cooperatives.She said that from next week, officers from the Fisheries department would be meeting farmers to plan on ways to re-stock the over 300 fish ponds in Naivasha Constituency.Area MP Jane Kihara asked the youth to engage in agribusiness to help the country achieve the Agricultural pillar in the Big 4 Agenda.Other leaders present include area MCA Stanley Karanja and Joseph Kamano of Maiella.