Nakuru County government has been urged to support women in agriculture expand and reap maximum gains from their agricultural ventures.
This was said on Wednesday by the Nakuru Gender Awareness (NGA) lobby group founder and co-ordinator Florence Wangeci at Heshima Market Centre in Bahati sub-county during an Agribusiness Workshop that was attended by local small scale women farmers.
The workshop that was organised by the lobby group to sensitise small scale women farmers in the area on various outstanding small scale agribusiness ventures covered on poultry, fruits and vegetables, dairy goat and cattle and rabbit farming skills.
According to Wangeci, many small scale women farmers largely contribute to their families well-being by ensuring food security and argued that the county government should consider empowering such groups through training to equip them with skills, financial support for them to expand their agricultural ventures and ready markets for their products.
“It is evident that our local women who engage in small scale farming contribute a great deal in ensuring food security for their families and community at large. It is therefore prudent for the local government to consider supporting them.
She added, “Let them have skills to improve their farming and finances for them to expand them. The government can also seek direct market for their products by linking buyers to them or it can buy these products directly from them.’’
Wangeci added that her group which has embarked on a series of grassroots gender awareness in the county would petition the county government to recognise small scale women farmers in the county.