East African Breweries Ltd (EABL), has embarked on mobilizing farmers in Homa-Bay County, to venture into sorghum farming.
EABL’s sustainable and stakeholder Engagement Manager, Waithera Mwai, said the initiative was aimed at empowering more than 4,000 farmers to plant sorghum in the next planting season starting September.
She said EABL was partnering with Sygenta Foundation East Africa, Sight Savers and Homa Bay County government, to enable farmers grow the crop.
Speaking, today, during a training session for farmers in Homa Bay town, Mwai said EABL will provide farmers with seeds and other farm inputs at affordable prices, to enable them grow the crop.
Mwai said the initiative was aimed at enabling farmers who are financially challenged to produce the crop.
“We want as many farmers as possible to register with us. We already have a programme for providing the farmers with seeds at affordable prices,” Mwai said.
She said upon maturity, EABL will purchase the sorghum and improve the farmers’ livelihood.
Sight Savers representative, Roselyn Olewe, encouraged farmers with disabilities to embrace the project.
“We are training the farmers to empower them with knowledge on how to grow the crop. I want them to understand that it is a project that can eradicate poverty,” said Olewe.
Sygenta Foundation official Lucy Kioko told farmers to embrace mechanization to enable them grow sorghum in large scale.
“We want the farmers to grow the crop in large scale. We will provide linkage to acquisition of mechanization services,” Kioko said.
Homa-Bay County Executive (CEC) Member for Agriculture, Aguko Juma, said the project will boost entrepreneurship in the County and urged residents to embrace it.
“The main issue affecting our people is unemployment. This project will create employment for the people. We must support it as a County Government,” Juma said.
By Davis Langat
