Narok governor Samuel Tunai has called on the Maa community to take advantage of the ongoing rains to plant their farms, as the county is rich in Agricultural production.
The governor observed that the county has a capacity to produce a lot of barley, wheat, sugarcane, tomatoes and potatoes that can subsidize the food production in the country.
“Our soils are good for agriculture as we produce 75 percent of barley used in the country, 60 percent of wheat, a lot of tomatoes and potatoes that are sold in outside counties,” said Tunai.
The second-term governor observed that due to land demarcation and with the growing population, the pastoralists’ community was left with little land to farm hence asked them to do quality farming that would earn them a lot of income.
“The land has been decreasing with the rising population. I ask the farmers to utilize the small sizes of land they have to undertake quality farming to get great rewards,” he reiterated.
He spoke in Mara ward during a farmer’s field day where he reported that the Mara Sugar factory located in Trans Mara West Sub County was currently producing 8,000 tonnes of sugar per day.
“We thank God that our county is also good for sugarcane production, currently our sugar factory is producing 8,000 tonnes per day which is one of the highest in the country,” said the governor.
On farmers’ capacity building, the governor added that the county has been training farmers on the best farming methods so that they can attain optimum produce from their dwindling land sizes.
“We already have farmers who have formed co-operatives to market their products like milk, avocados, tomatoes and potatoes. We want to encourage the farmers to continue forming groups that will help them market their produce,” continued the governor.
The governor was accompanied by Narok West constituency Member of Parliament Gabriel Togoyo and his Agriculture and Livestock executive Member Ms. Cherotich Koyan.
According to the Kenya Meteorological department weather forecast for February 2021, Narok County and part of southern Rift valley are expected to receive occasional light rainfall. The rainfall amount in these areas is likely to be lower than the long-term average.
by Ann Salaton
