Farmers’ groups in Nyamira County are set to reap big both in productivity and profitability courtesy of World Bank’s financial grant.
According to Mr. Wilfred Migiro, an agricultural officer in Nyamira in charge of a project dubbed National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP), the government in partnership with World Bank wants to support the rural vulnerable farmers with small land sizes and train them on how to utilise those minimal farms but still harvest bountifully.
He added some groups to benefit have already been identified and more can still benefit.
During a sensitisation forum at Jamhuri gardens in Nyamira town, the officer emphasised to farmers that they must be willing to work in groups for them to benefit from the grant because it will enable them encourage and support one another in a venture they have decided to undertake.
“The government will only support farmers in functional registered groups because in that way production is boosted, accessing the farmers for advise is efficient and even bargaining for other agricultural product and services becomes easy,” Mr. Migiro hinted.
The officer clarified that the project does not isolate anyone so long as you are in a duly registered group by the department of social services and are interested in venturing into farming identified priority value chains.
He said their office is willing to freely guide them on how to write proposals which are worth funding so that they can also improve their productivity.
“Currently NARIGP is issuing grants to farmers interested in undertaking specific value chain ventures in Nyamira County which include farming of bananas, Kienyeji vegetables, rearing of dairy cows and kienyeji so any interested group of farmers should be willing to farm any of the four areas of farming to qualify for World bank’s grant,” he said.
Laban Angwenyi, chairman of a youth group in Nyamira that is benefiting from the grant challenged fellow youths to shun being lured into crime which land them in trouble later or con games of get rich quick like betting and other forms of gambling and start farming projects which are acceptable and sure ways of generating money to sustain their livelihood.
“Youths are the most energetic who should be first to seize this opportunity instead of crying for joblessness for this is also a form of employment where the returns are guaranteed since all of us cannot get the white collar jobs but all of us need to eat the reason why I have confidence that they cannot go wrong in farming for I have tried it and it is working for my group,” Angwenyi told the youths.
The NARIGP is a partnership project between government of Kenya and World Bank; International Development Association (IDA) funded project being undertaken in 21 counties where Nyamira County is one of them.
NARIGP’s aim is to increase agricultural productivity and profitability leading to improved livelihoods and reduced vulnerabilities of rural communities where identified priority value chains have been selected and in Nyamira the value chains undertaken are rearing of dairy cows, Kienyeji chicken, planting of bananas and kienyeji vegetables.
By Deborah Bochere
