Bomet County Government has donated assorted vegetable seeds to 10 000 farmers and 50 schools in a bid to fight nutrition related diseases in the county
Ranging from kales to assorted indigenous vegetables including black night shade (managu) and spider weed (saga) Bomet Governor Prof Hillary Barchok said the vegetables were rich in vitamins that were essential in improving immunity.
During the launch of the project in Bomet, Barchok said the advent of covid-19 pandemic served as a wakeup call as experts insisted on having balanced diet in order to build strong immunity to fight against a myriad of diseases.
“As we support farmers to build resilience against adverse climatic conditions that have negatively affected production in the agricultural sector, we must also ensure that our bodies remain strong enough to fight diseases,” he said.
“That is why we have sensitized the residents of Bomet on the need to eat a lot of vitamins and we have followed this with the expansion of the variety of vegetables available to our farmers.
The Governor said he encouraged the farmers to use small spaces around the house famously known as kitchen gardens saying the same could easily be managed to ensure steady supply of fresh vegetables throughout the year.
At the same time, Barchok said his administration would supply vegetable dryers that would enable farmers to preserve their vegetables during rainy seasons when the vegetables were in surplus.
He said seedlings would be distributed to 750 groups in the county adding that 50 schools would form the basis of 4K clubs that were meant to nurture students who would play a key role in educating the entire community on the importance of vegetables in alleviating malnutrition.
“So in three months, we should be able to see the results of this investment we are making today. We would rather eat our way to health than otherwise treat our way to health.”
By Kipngeno Korir
