Agriculture CS Peter Munya and his Water and Sanitation counterpart Sicily Kariuki have reiterated government’s commitments to enhance service delivery and ensure implementation of crucial projects meant to boost farmers across the country.
The duo said the government was working round the clock to ensure meaningful development projects are realized countrywide.
The CSs were speaking at Ol-Joro orok Constituency where they commissioned several water projects and gave out farming tool kits to farmers to boost their activities.
The duo also launched the Kagongo Wendani Irrigation project in Weru Ward, expected to serve over 800 households, which was funded by the Ministry of Agriculture through the Small-Scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project (SIVAP).
Munya also launched the One Million Kitchen Gardens Plan that targets households and schools across the county, an initiative that is part of the economic recovery strategy to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 and boost income.
“The tool kits will help farmers’ groups to start kitchen garden activities in an effort to boost food security as most parts of the country continue to experience drought as a result of prolonged dry spell.
“The government is also committed to re-introducing 4-k clubs in schools where learners will also be trained on modern farming technologies to caution on food safety,” said Munya.
The initiative will see pupils from primary schools taught on how to grow crops through 4K Clubs, a clarion call to help the country be food secure.
Popular farming activities include keeping rabbits, chickens, goats and growing horticultural crops for lessons to enable schools generated some income from them.
On her part, the Water and Sanitation CS noted the government had already invested in water projects worth over Sh3.6 billion since 2020 in Nyandarua County alone, a commitment she observed will help support residents get access to clean water.
“The government has done a feasibility study on the Pesi mega water project that is expected to be launched in Ndaragwa Constituency, and now what remains is designing and funding of the project that is meant to serve residents from Nyandarua, Laikipia and Nyeri Counties.
“This will boost water supplies to other water projects that have already been initiated in this area,” said Kariuki
Meanwhile, Munya said the government has established a task force to look into ways of improving potato farming in the country.
He said the task force would be unveiled soon and amongst its terms of reference would be to find ways of ensuring that potato farming is profitable.
By Antony Mwangi
