HOMA BAY: The agricultural sector in Homa Bay has received a boost after the County Government procured 20 motorcycles aimed at enhancing extension services and unlocking farmers’ potential to boost productivity. Governor Gladys Wanga said this initiative was a significant step in empowering farmers and uplifting agriculture, reiterating the importance of agriculture to the county’s economy.
According to Kenya News Agency, the governor made these remarks during the flagging-off ceremony of the motorbikes procured under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) to ensure equitable access to extension services across the wards. An additional five motorcycles were further handed over for market price data collection and dissemination purposes, enabling farmers to access accurate and timely market information to make informed marketing decisions.
These motorcycles will complement 20 bikes procured and distributed last year to 20 wards, facilitating the field officers’ visits to more farmers and conducting onsite training. “We are building on that success by distributing another 20 motorbikes to serve the remaining 20 wards,” Wanga added. She urged the extension officers to use the motorbikes diligently and highlighted other initiatives the county plans to unveil to transform agriculture under NAVCDP.
The county is set to establish agricultural demonstration farms in every ward to serve as learning centres for best practices in crop and livestock management. “We will also recruit and train community-based facilitators and lead farmers who will provide our farmers with practical knowledge to enhance productivity, who will be trained using the farmer field school model,” stated Wanga.
Other interventions include contracting and deployment of agripreneurs to work with farmers and digitizing agricultural services through a partnership with Agritech Consortia to introduce disruptive agricultural technologies and modernize services. “We have further registered and digitized over 84,000 farmers through the Community Driven Development Committees (CDDCs), and organized them into groups for easier access to training, financial support, and marketing opportunities,” she noted.
Wanga emphasized that this initiative symbolized a commitment to ensuring no farmer is left behind. She called on CDDC officials to intensify efforts to digitally register more farmers, aiming for a target of 200,000.