Some 135 farmers’ groups in Embu County have received cheques amounting to Sh. 125.7 from the Word Bank funded National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP).
The donations are aimed at supporting economic ventures and startups for the beneficiaries including Common Interest Groups (CIGs), Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups (VMGs), dairy producer organizations and coffee cooperatives.
Speaking while issuing the cheques to beneficiaries on Wednesday at Embu University grounds, Governor Cecily Mbarire said the project is being implemented in all the 20 wards across the county and thus its impact will be felt by the whole community.
“ NARIGP project’s direct beneficiaries across the county are 187, 670 households,” said the Governor, noting that four value chains had been prioritized including dairy cows, chicken, mango and green grams, that she added had the potential to attain the project’s development objective.
She said she was particularly excited that coffee, which was one of the county’s major cash crops and highest income earner had been included as an additional value chain under the Coffee Revitalization Programme (CRP).
The Governor said four coffee farmers’ cooperatives had been selected including Thambana, Murue, Kibugu and Kiangagwa with each receiving Sh. 9.7 million. The money is set to go towards purchase of modern Ecopulpers, solar dryers, metallic drying tables and renovation of fermentation tanks.
She advised the beneficiaries to make good use of the grants they received as seed capital to uplift their economic status.
“It is one thing to secure grants from donors and another thing altogether to use the donations prudently,” the governor said as she beseeched them not to allow all that money to go to waste.
She challenged leaders to lead by example, noting that poor leadership was the cause of the collapse of many cooperatives. “The leader is one who does what they say or what they mean. They walk the talk,” she said.
By Samuel Waititu
