Farmers in Bungoma County will in the next six years benefit from a Sh 95 billion agriculture project aimed at bolstering productivity.
The Kenya Livestock Commercialization Project (KeLCoP) with funding from the government of Kenya and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is targeting eradicating poverty and beefing up food security especially among the rural poor
Speaking at Mabanga Agriculture Training Centre (ATC), KeLCoP County Coordinator Rose Khisa said that Bungoma was among ten counties that are lucky to benefit from the project which is targeting different ecological zones.
She noted that one of the project activities under component two was an investor forum which was recently held in Bungoma County.
“The purpose of the investor forum was to bring on board investors along the value chains,” she said
The coordinator said that the project will mainly focus on improved poultry, sheep, goat, dairy and beef farming, bee keeping value chain among others.
“We have brought on board input suppliers, service providers, and financial institutions to our farmers. The project is actually targeting over 8,000 small scale farmers in Bungoma,” she said.
She said that the most targeted groups in the six-year project include: the ultra- poor, the poor, people living with disabilities and the indigenous groups like the Ogiek from Mt Elgon.
She said the targeted project group is women and youths adding that it is the reason why they are having 54 percent of the target group being women.
She said the chicken being given to farmers will make a great impact on the nutrition of the beneficiary categories of the project.
“Chicken are advantageous as compared to the dairy since they occupy a smaller space and feeding is easy,” she affirmed.
Ms. Khisa further said that the small stocks could be easily managed by women and youths.
She revealed that the project has three interrelated components which comprises the production level, marketing and project coordination.
She further pointed out that the project seeks to transform rural livelihood by uplifting small scale farmers in the region so that they can generate income.
She added that the program is also nutrition sensitive stating that goat milk can substitute human milk when a breastfeeding mother has health complications in feeding the baby.
In her address, Bungoma County CECM for agriculture Monica Fedha said that the six-year project will greatly contribute to Bungoma county’s agricultural transformative agenda of increasing rural small-scale farmers’ income, food security and nutrition.
By Bronley Kidari and Roseland Lumwamu
