Embu County Government has embarked on a program to assist farmers diversify their income streams through adoption of high-value crops and livestock that offer more returns on a smaller farming budget.
Towards this end, the devolved unit on Saturday distributed Hass avocado and macadamia seedlings as well as dairy goats and beehives worth Sh12 million to hundreds of farmers from Kagaari North Ward in Embu East Sub-county.
The initiative is part of the Emergency Locust Response Program (ELRP) targeting famers that were affected by the desert locust invasion in 2019 and the project is funded by National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP).
Governor Cecily Mbarire said the economy of Embu depended largely on agriculture adding that it is paramount to help farmers secure other viable alternatives to crops such as tea, coffee, maize and beans that have proven to be unreliable at times.
She said shifting the focus from supporting farmers primarily on subsistence crops will offer farmers supplemental ways to earn more as well as stimulate economic growth in the county.
“We want farmers to have a source of income all year-round so that if they are not making money from coffee, tea or other crops, they can do so from avocado, macadamia, honey or dairy goats,” she said.
She said they are also promoting cultivation of legumes such as green grams and cowpeas in the dry parts of Mbeere South and North Sub-counties so that farmers can make good use of the depressed rains in those areas to produce enough food for consumption and sale.
She said they are also expanding these value chains so that they can have enough raw materials for the County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP) that is under construction in Machang’a area in Mbeere South Sub-county.
“Part of the reason we are giving out these inputs is so that we can prepare ourselves to have enough raw material to take to our industrial park for value addition,” the Governor said.
She noted that the key value chains her administration was keen on in value addition at the CAIP was avocado, macadamia, mangoes, green grams and honey.
She at the same time appealed to farmers to form or join cooperative societies so that they can negotiate for better prices of their produce collectively.
Farmers who received the inputs hailed the initiative, saying it will assure them a steady source of income to meet their daily needs.
By Samuel Waititu
