County to digitize agricultural sector to enhance food security

Nakuru, Tuesday, April 18, 2023

K.N.A By Esther Mwangi

The County Government of Nakuru is in the process of digitizing its agricultural sector in a move aimed at enhancing food and nutrition security.

Chief Officer in charge of Livestock and Fisheries Dr Michael Cheruiyot said the county was developing and embracing digital technologies that offer accurate weather forecasts and dissemination of   information to farmers to enhance preparedness and mapping of areas affected by pests and diseases in-order to develop responses. 

Dr. Cheruiyot added that the county had embarked on a process to move agriculture extension services to the digital space to make the services closer to the farmers and more affordable.

He spoke when the county government received laptops from Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme- Climate Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods (KCEP-CRAL) for use by extension officers to grow food output by enabling farmers to employ good farming practices on their farms.

The county boss noted that the equipment will help enhance the efficiency of extension officers in helping smallholder farmers who fall under the bracket of Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) improve on the standards and quality of their farm produce.

“Farmers are producers of food and cash crops that account for 37 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. We, therefore, seek to ensure that our farmers know and embrace the benefits accrued from good quality assurance practices,"Cheruiyot dded.

The Chief Officer said farmers in Kenya with poor agronomic knowledge have continued with traditional agriculture leading to low production of food volumes and added that the county government of Nakuru intends to use the agricultural extension services to improve yields of food crops and close the yield gap through extension activities including general recommendations on soil fertility, seedlings management, and the right use of pesticides.

“We can no longer rely on traditional methods of farming to meet the country’s feeding needs; it is high time all players in this sector employed modern styles that assure sustainable production,” said Dr. Cheruiyot.

The Chief Officer further noted that Governor Susan Kihika’s administration was working with the national Government and other development partners to invest in storage facilities in-order to prevent post-harvest losses that has been a big challenge among farmers.

Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme Climate-Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods (KCEP-CRAL) which is sponsored by the national government is currently being implemented in Njoro and Molo Sub-Counties and has seen agricultural officers receive motorbikes to enhance their mobility.

The programme is funded by the Swedish development agency SIDA through the Food Agricultural Organization (FAO), the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). It aims to reduce rural poverty and food insecurity among smallholder farmers in arid and semi-arid areas.

Dr Cheruiyot said appreciated the gesture and said the extension officers will use the laptops in sharing new technologies, latest farming techniques and linking farmers to other stakeholders in the economy. Information on new and existing livestock policies will also be disseminated through the gadgets.

He explained that the extension officers had been trained to present the messages clearly to farmers and the information would be packaged in a way that is easy for the farmer to understand. Furthermore, the messages would be translated to vernacular languages where necessary to enable illiterate farmers understand.

While indicating that the key role of extension services could not be gainsaid, the Chief Officer observed that countries like the United States, Canada, Australia and Denmark, which have very advanced agricultural sectors, bank on strong extension services.

He  said the Nakuru Farmers Call Centre seeks to enhance delivery of agricultural extension services through Short Message Service (SMS), and advised farmers to fully exploit the Centre to obtain information on best farming practices.

“Food security can only be attained if farmers are equipped with the necessary knowledge. That is why this centre was established to provide the growers with best possible advice on any aspect of farming to improve production,” added Dr Cheruiyot. 

At the call centre, Farmers are provided with information on what crops to plant in different areas, the type of fertilizer and pesticides to be used in addition to Livestock farmers being provided with information on how to control pests and diseases as well as feeding their animals to improve production of milk, beef and eggs, among other products.

KCEP-CRAL Project Coordinator, Maryanne Njogu said over 3,000 farmers in the two Sub-Counties of Njoro and Molo had been empowered to practice sustainable agriculture towards improving crop yields, stimulating the economy and helping mitigate climate change.

“They have been equipped with skills to practice commercially oriented, climate-resilient agricultural practices through improvements in production, post-production management practices, and market linkages for maize, beans, and potatoes value chains,” explained Ms Njogu. 

The coordinator noted that agriculture was vulnerable to climate change, particularly in Kenya, where crops rely on regular, sufficient and predictable rainfall. 

She observed that changes in temperature and precipitation patterns had created extreme weather conditions such as flash flooding, drought and locust invasions that had not only slashed crop yields but fuelled regional conflict over diminishing access to essential resources. 

Ms Njogu stated that KCEP-CRAL Project was also building resilience in smallholder farming and pastoral communities that depend on rain-fed agriculture through scaling up climate-smart agricultural practices, strengthening climate-smart agricultural research and seed systems, and supporting agro-meteorology and advisory services. 

Courtesy K.N.A