Day: March 24, 2023

World Vision Kenya has called on the government, non-governmental organizations, microfinance facilities and water stakeholders to come up with a water financing programme where citizens can access credit to procure water storage equipment. Speaking to KNA in Maralal, the Technical Lead for Water Sanitation and Hygiene Programme for World Vision Kenya Peter Karanja said that access to credit for Kenyans to get water tanks or dig small dams will help a long way in ensuring that they have water for use in dry seasons. Karanja said harvesting runaway rain water will not only save Kenyans from water shortage but also from havoc caused by flooding especially in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) regions in the country. ‘Many people lack access to water storage equipment. The government and all stakeholders in the sector can come up with microfinance that can support people just to go and procure tanks for rain water harvesting and can use the water during dry seasons,’ Karanja said. ‘People can use the harvested water for economic development, have kitchen gardens for small scale irrigation, improve their nutrition and take the ASALs areas in the country out of water crisis and be able to sustain themselves,’ he added. The water expert further argued that there is a need to improve access to water and its quality in respect to the population by exploring ground water. ‘Rather than waiting for the rains which have not been enough for three years, how well can we do ground water exploration so Kenyans have uninterrupted access to safe water?’ he posed. ‘Not all ground water is of good quality but water technologies have been put in place to ensure that once explored and the water quality is not good enough, we can make technological interventions to convert the water for good consumption,’ he said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Miraa farmers and traders in Nyambene region of Meru County want the government to move swiftly in reviewing the classification of the crop as a drug in order to fetch more markets outside the country. Through their union; Miraa growers and traders’ cooperative union, the farmers said this was the only remaining stumbling block in accessing international markets for the crop also known as Khat. The Union’s Chairman Mr Moses Lichoro thanked President William Ruto for expressing his concern in the crop’s business but said this should start with declassifying it as a drug as it stands at the moment. Mr Lichoro added that the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) still refers to miraa as a drug, a move that prompted a similar move by other countries including the United Kingdom, Netherlands among other major international markets who barred the use and sale of the substance. ‘We know the President is a busy man and we are therefore calling on our political leaders from this county to make a follow up and ensure a review of the crop’s classification. The ‘hard drug’ label it bears at the moment is not supported by any scientific evidence,’ said Mr Lichoro. He added that last year, the union through the efforts of the county government of Meru and the ministry of agriculture made productive trips to Djibouti and Congo where they secured a sizable market for the crop but cannot access it due to lack of a direct airline to the two countries. ‘We are pleased that Djibouti and Congo agreed to buy at least ten and five tonnes of Miraa on a daily basis but this will not happen until we get a direct airline to the country. We are therefore calling on our President to intervene by securing us an airline to make the market a reality,’ said Mr Lichoro. He also called on the President to fulfill his promise of dealing with miraa cartels who have already bedeviled the sub sector to the disadvantage of the farmers. Ms Suset Kagwiria, a member of the union thanked the Kenya Kwanza government for expressing concern on Miraa farming which she said will soon bear fruits. She called on the farmers to be prepared to venture into serious Miraa farming considering that good times lie ahead. ‘Miraa has been the backbone of our economy in this region and we are encouraging our farmers to keep on moving as plans are at an advanced stage to revive the sub-sector,’ said Ms Kagwiria.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Taita Taveta Governor, Andrew Mwadime, Thursday flagged off 22 tonnes of porridge flour and sugar to 317 Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres throughout the county in a move that revives a feeding program to keep young and vulnerable pupils in classrooms. The two trailer trucks flagged off from the county headquarters at Mwatate had sixteen tonnes of fortified porridge flour and six tonnes of sugar expected to reach over 12,000 ECDE pupils. ‘We flag off these consignments with the hope that it can keep our young pupils in classrooms and give some relief to parents at home who are struggling to feed their children,’ said Governor Mwadime. Swirling dry winds, sweltering sun heat, and cloudless sky have been the dominant weather patterns in Taita Taveta County for the last six seasons. In the wake of one of the most devastating droughts in Kenya, the county residents who mainly rely on rain-fed agriculture have been left devastated by massive crop failure and the resulting hunger. ‘While the drought and hunger cuts across all social classes and age groups, it is the young and early education learners who are severely affected. We have seen high absenteeism records among ECDE pupils and we believe this program will see them come back to classes,’ said Gloria Monikombo, County Executive Member of Education. As per the data released by the National Drought Management Authority in January this year, more than 150,000 people in the county are facing starvation with 17,000 of those being children. According to county nutritionist Pauline Mugo, the ongoing drought has seen a spike in malnutrition cases with more than 23 per cent of children under the age of five facing malnourishment and stunted growth. While calling on the national government and partners to intensify food relief initiatives in worst-hit areas, the county chief officer for special programmes, Harrison Mwamkonu, pegged his hope on better March-May rains to ease food insecurity at the household level. With heavy rains pounding Nairobi, Western, and several other regions; Taita Taveta residents are crossing their fingers for a bountiful rain season any time now.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The ministry of agriculture has identified Kericho County as the first location that will be used to carry out trials on the use of semi organic fertilizer whose composition will be 50 per cent organic and 50 per cent chemical. The agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mr Mithika Linturi while speaking Thursday in Kericho, said that the government had identified a supplier and issued out a permit to enable the supplier to bring into the country the maize fertilizer from a neighbouring country. Mr Linturi who was accompanied by the newly appointed Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) for agriculture Mr Jackson Kiptanui, and the Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei said that samples on the semi organic fertilizer from the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), Kenya Agricultural and livestock Research (KALRO) and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has indicated that the maize fertilizer was good and it increases maize production by 49 per cent. Mr Linturi said that cereals depots where the government subsidized fertilizers are stored across the counties in the maize growing zones will be opened from 6.30 am in the morning to 6.30 pm in the evening, from Monday to Sunday, this he said was to enable farmers access the government subsidized fertilizers which is selling at Sh 3, 500 per 50 Kgs bag. The agriculture CS assured the maize farmers that enough maize fertilizer will be stocked at the national cereals depot to enable them to purchase the fertilizer at ease. Mr Linturi said that they had also stocked enough fertilizer in the depots for other crops including tea fertilizer for the farmers. The agriculture CS said that digitization of the farmers across the country was ongoing and noted that the target number of farmers in the country has not been achieved. The agriculture CS urged all farmers to register for the government to adequately plan for their production and identify market for their produce. The CS said the registration of farmers in the country was being carried out by the national government administration officers, the NGAO being the Chiefs and assistant chiefs at the sub location level. Kericho Deputy Governor engineer Fred Kirui said that the Safaricom network being used by the national cereals and produce board NCPB to serve farmers at times fails and the farmers who received the text messages cannot be served faster as required. Eng Kirui also told the CS that the access road to the Kericho depot had been blocked and allocated to private developers and it should be reverted back to the government. He noted that the location of Kericho NCPB cannot be easily located by the Kericho residents and farmers, adding that the road needs to be reopened for public use. The Kericho deputy governor appealed to the agriculture CS to supply more fertilizers including top dressing fertilizer to the Kericho region now that the onset of long rains was being reutilized. He urged farmers in Kericho to plant and produce more food crops.

Source: Kenya News Agency