The Nakuru Governor, Lee Kinyanjui on Monday signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with key stakeholders as the county moves towards implementation of the one million farmers’ platform officially launched the same day.
The MoU was signed between Disruptive Agricultural Technologies (DAT Cohort) that comprises of DigiCow, Agri-Wallet, Kuza Biashara, M-Shamba and Tulaa and the county government of Nakuru.
Kinyanjui noted that the partners would go a long way in supporting small-scale farmers in the county by offering digital platforms that will link them up with other partners in the agriculture chain.
The Governor said that the county was committed to ensuring it provides full support towards farmer mobilization, training and subsidizing operational expenses where applicable.
“We shall work together towards the implementation of the One Million Farmers Platform that will support small-scale farmers at the county level,” governor Kinyanjui affirmed.
He said the county will leverage resources available under the World Bank project, National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP) and utilize other county resources towards investments that will benefit farmers.
The One Million Farmers Platform is an initiative of the World Bank Group and other partners to ensure small-scale farmers can utilize digital solutions to increase their productivity, profitability and resilience.
It was commissioned in Nairobi on Monday in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MoALF) and the Korea-World Bank Partnership Facility.
The launch was a follow up to the “Scaling up Disruptive Digital Technologies in Kenya Agriculture” event that was held in April 2019 and culminated in the identification of 14 of the most promising digital technology innovators in agriculture in Kenya who were then awarded membership to the One Million Farmer Platform.
The initiative aims to create a platform that leverages disruptive agricultural technologies to reach one million farmers and enhance their Productivity, Profitability and Resilience.
Organizers say the initiative will work with support from MoALF and the counties. It is organized around four themes namely Access to Productivity services, Financial services, Markets and Data-driven applications.
By Jane Ngugi
