The Kakamega County Government has drafted an agricultural policy aimed at among other things promoting food and nutritional security.
The Chief Officer (CO) for Veterinary Services, Livestock and Fisheries Development, Dr. Kelly Nelima, said apart from boosting production, it also proposes a shift from subsistence to commercial farming.
Nelima was addressing a stakeholders’ meeting to deliberate on the Policy at the western regional headquarters meeting hall.
She stated that under the policy, the drafting team developed strategies for dairy and roots and tubers as well as sustainable soil and land management practices.
The CO lamented that despite the County having high potential for agricultural production and productivity courtesy of fertile soils and favorable climate, it is still food insecure.
She added that the draft guidelines call for building the capacity of farmers through training, reducing the cost of production, availing high-yielding seed materials and creating market linkages for the farmers.
The County Administration has in the past five years been running a subsidized farm inputs programme where it avails maize seeds and fertilizers to the farmers.
The policy comes at a time the country is having a deficit of two million bags of maize this year.
Food Security, she said, is among the Big Four Agenda areas prioritized by the Jubilee government. The others are affordable housing, manufacturing and Universal Healthcare Coverage.
By Sammy Mwibanda
