The County government of Kakamega has received pesticides worth over Sh.7 million from the State Department of Crop Development to contain fighting fall armyworms and locusts.
Speaking after receiving the donation on Monday, the area Deputy Governor (DG), Prof. Philip Kutima, who also doubles as the county executive for agriculture and livestock development Executive lauded the national government for the move and said it would lead to the realization of food security in the region.
“Sub County Agricultural Officers (SCAOs) are going to train the farmers about pesticides which include radiant, Volium Tago, Lotus and Sinophate and their application as well as safety precautions while using the chemicals,” he said.
The DG added that the beneficiaries will be the vulnerable farmers identified by Community Area Administrators (CAAs) in all the sub counties.
Prof. Kutima advised the SCAOs, who were drawn from all the 12 sub counties, to observe the anti-Covid-19 precautionary measures while carrying out the capacity building exercise.
He disclosed that subsidized planting and top dressing fertilizer is available at the county stores in preparation for the second planting season.
“We have procured 175,000 bags of both planting and top dressing fertilizer which would be sold to the farmers at a subsidized cost,” he said.
According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the country might witness another wave of attack on crops by desert locusts before the end of the year.
By Sammy Mwibanda
