Homa Bay County government has allocated Sh569 million in the 2021/2022 financial year to fund agricultural activities in a bid to improve food security over the next one year.
County Executive Committee Member in charge of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Aguko Juma expressed optimism that the county will not experience food insecurity despite adverse weather conditions.
He said that the government will support farmers with seeds and machinery for the next planting season.
Juma encouraged the local farmers to embark on early preparation of the land before the rainy season begins.
The official revealed that the recurrent expenditure for agriculture was allocated a total of 155.1 million shillings whereas development expenditure received a total allocation of 414.3million shillings.
He highlighted that out of the Sh414.3 million shillings allocated for the development expenditure, Sh20 million will be used for Farm Input Access Service.
Juma urged farmers not to sell their farm produce at throw away prices to middle men but instead store them well to curb food insecurity in the near future. “Farmers should keep their harvests to avoid food insecurity,” said Anguko.
He warned that if farmers run out of food, there is the possibility of relying on relief food from the national government.
By Jackline Atieno and Davis Langat
