Migori County receives Sh12.6M worth of equipment from ASDSP

Migori

Thursday, March 30, 2023,

K.N.A

By Geoffrey Makokha

Migori County has received Sh12.6 million worth of farm machinery from Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme II (ASDSP II) to aid food production in the county.

While flagging off the machinery, Migori Governor Dr Ochilo Ayacko said that the procured farm equipment would help the small-scale farmers continue to produce and supply food to the county.

Nine tricycles, three solar irrigation kit, hatcheries /incubators and milk packaging equipment were handed over to the targeted beneficiary farmer groups across the county.

Four milling machines and mixtures starters for dairy cows and chicken feed, 120 complete conventional semen and 30 sexed semen with oxygen cylinders and straws were also issued.

ASDSP II project is co-funded by Swedish Government (SIDA), the Government of Kenya together with the County Government of Migori through counterpart contributions to help the local and small scale farmers.

Governor Ochillo noted that the majority of small scale farmers continued to produce goods despite vulnerability, inequalities and hardships associated with poverty and inability to access subsidised farm inputs.

ASDSP II programme in Migori will promote value chain approach extension in local chicken production, dairy farming and sweet potatoes value chain enterprises.

Ochilo said that by transforming agriculture and blue economy production into commercially oriented enterprises for sustainable incomes and food security, the ASDSP II will focus to increase the productivity of value chain addition, strengthen entrepreneurial skills and improving access to markets.

ASDSP II is one of the key components designed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives and 47 County governments to address food and nutrition security and promote manufacturing in the country.

The programme was also designed to enhance the capacity of different priority value chain actors in different counties to tackle the problems that hinder the commercialisation of agriculture among all the counties.

Ochilo emphasised that improving farm productivity and value addition would ensure value chain development and diversification to build food resilience for the county residents.

“The modern equipment and machinery we are flagging off today will go a long way in improving the efficiency and productivity in the agricultural sector and the blue economy in Migori,” noted Ochilo.

He stressed that Migori County Government was fully committed to harnessing the collective power of solidarity and collaboration with its development partners to invest heavily in agriculture with a strong emphasis on food processing and value addition.

Governor Ochilo said that he would immediately commission the Getonganya County Sweet Potato Plant in an effort to elevate the orange-fleshed sweet potato variety to a cash crop in Migori County.

The factory failed to start its operation after its launch in 2022 due to lack of professional staff to run the facility. However, Ochilo affirmed that already, key factory staff have been recruited together with sustainable seed capital to kick start factory operations.

The Getonganya County Sweet Potato Plant was constructed at a cost of Sh117 million with the support of the European Union (EU) and the Kenya Government.

The county will also expand the land under irrigation in Lower Kuja Irrigation Scheme for sweet potato vineyard tubes to boost sweet potato production in the county.

To ensure that Migori remains food secure as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010, under the Bill of Rights to provide adequate food quality and quantity at all times for all, Ochilo revealed that the National Government through the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate would soon roll out promotion of sunflower in the County.

The introduction of sunflower will boost the agricultural sector in Migori County which already has sweet potato, beans, fish, dairy and maize production among others.

During the 2021-2022 financial year, ASDSP I programme gave out Sh5 million worth of equipment to selected farmer groups in the county.

The programme had also targeted 7,000 direct beneficiaries but so far, 15,200 farmers have benefited courtesy of partnerships from development partners and stakeholders in the county.

Courtesy K.N.A