Vihiga County intends to embrace irrigation farming to ensure optimal use of arable land for the realisation of sustainable agricultural productivity.
Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo says over-reliance on rain-fed farming has become unpredictable in the face of climate change effects that require farmers to adopt new technologies in order to maintain good returns from their enterprises.
Dr. Ottichilo said this while flagging off a delegation of Irrigation Water Users Association (IWUA) members who were to visit Machakos and Embu counties on a benchmarking mission.
The county head stated that his administration is focused on ensuring food security for the populace through collaborative efforts with other partners in capacity building and offering subsidised inputs to farmers.
“We are expecting a good main season maize harvest courtesy of the national government’s fertiliser subsidy programme, and the farmers are readying themselves for the short rainy planting period,” he said.
He lauded the national government for availing the fertilisers at an affordable price of Sh2,500 per 50-kilogramme bag, terming it a well-thought-out incentive for the promotion of agricultural production.
The governor observed that Machakos and Embu devolved units have well-established irrigation schemes and he expects the team to learn the technologies and replicate them on their farms.
By Sammy Mwibanda
