Murang’a Governor, Mwangi wa Iria, has underscored the need for benchmarking among counties, saying the move can boost development in devolved units.
Wa Iria said counties can learn from each other for the benefit of respective residents thus party politics associated with regions should not deter the spirit of benchmarking.
He spoke when a team of officers from Elgeyo Marakwet County visited Murang’a to learn more about dairy farming and performance of cooperative movements.
The Governor observed that some regions are associated with specific political parties, saying divisive politics should not be a reason to block consultations and learning from other counties.
“We should not dwell much on politics which can hinder us from witnessing development advancements being done in other counties. There should be more interactions and benchmarking which will bring in development across all counties,” he stated.
Murang’a County Government is known for investing immensely in dairy farming with the devolved Administration assisting in the establishment of a milk processing plant at Maragua area.
Local dairy farmers formed a movement which brought together more than 300, 000 farmers to help in the establishment of a milk processing plant.
Wa Iria said some counties have prospered in some sectors thus the need for other County Governments to learn from each other and implement viable projects which will see livelihood of common mwananchi uplifted.
The Governor said Murang’a will partner with Elgeyo Marakwet County to help boost dairy farming in the two counties.
“We will send a team of cooperative experts to Elgeyo Marakwet to help the County establish a dairy farmers’ cooperative. The movement will work out to improve production of milk and earnings for the farmers,” added Wa Iria.
He lauded Murang’a County Cooperative Creameries, saying the cooperative has assisted in stabilizing milk prices in the county.
“With this milk processing plant, we have managed to have a minimum guaranteed price for milk where currently it stands at Sh35 per litre. In the near future we are going to increase the price to more than Sh40,” the Governor added.
Speaking on behalf of the team, the Elgeyo Marakwet County Livestock Chief Officer, Dr. Benson Kibore, expressed gratitude to Murang’a County for the reception, assuring that Marakwet people have a lot to learn and share with them.
“We are going to implement what they learnt from Murang’a concerning dairy farming in their region,” Dr. Kibore assured.
Dr Kibore lauded the milk processing plant in Murang’a, promising that the County will embark on bringing farmers together to start marketing their produce collectively and to block middlemen who have frustrated farmers for a long time.
By Bernard Munyao
