Kitui Governor Dr. Julius Malombe has said he will continue actualizing his election manifesto by resuscitating the development and transformation vision and agenda for the county that seeks to progressively improve residents’ livelihoods and their living standards.
Governor Malombe said he will also seek to continue leading a county with vibrant rural and urban economies whose people enjoyed high quality of life.
The Governor said in his election manifesto dubbed “The Kitui Promise”, he underscored the importance of reviving and revamping the Kitui Agricultural Show and Trade Fair as a platform to showcase modern agricultural technologies and strengthen business linkages.
Speaking when he officially opened the show today, the Governor said elections were behind us and hard work to reclaim, restore and transform the beloved county already begun.
“Today, we are witnessing the fulfillment of this promise. The theme for this year’s show themed: “Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture, Trade Initiatives for Sustainable Food, Nutrition Security and Economic Growth” aligns perfectly with our goals and aspirations for a prosperous and resilient agricultural sector”, he said.
Malombe said towards developing the agricultural sector, his administration has begun implementing a comprehensive program of agricultural extension services, along with well-maintained and managed farm tractors for each ward. This is aimed at reducing the sluggish time consuming and exhausting work in land preparation, attract the youth to the sector, enhance agricultural productivity and improve incomes.
In addition, the county chief said the county ministries of agriculture and livestock as well as water and irrigation have other earth moving machines which will continue being used to undertake dam construction, water pan and farm ponds development and mechanised soil conservation.
“In realisation of the need to promote policies to mitigate climate change, my government will through the county ministry of agriculture continue building the capacity of farmers and producers in climate-smart agriculture, agribusiness, value addition and the establishment of livestock trading centers throughout the county”, he said.
The Governor said towards this end, several programmes and projects have been implemented in the financial year 2022/2023 which among others includes; farm Input support programme to increase crop production for improved food security and increased income, the county government has procured and distributed 96 Metric tons of drought tolerant varieties of seeds for cow peas (51 Metric tons) and Green grams (45 Metric tons) which benefitted 47,954 farmers during the short and long rains season. This enabled the beneficiaries to realize a yield of 2,541 metric tons of cowpeas and 2,282 metric tons of green grams valued at Sh386million.
He pointed out that climate change is an undeniable reality that poses significant challenges to farmers and hence affecting or reducing food production in the county and country at large.
The Governor further said in recent years, Kitui has experienced the impact of erratic weather patterns, prolonged droughts, and diminishing agricultural productivity. He said there was a need to acknowledge the need to prioritise climate resilience in our agricultural practices.
“We must embrace new approaches that conserve water, promote soil health, pasture production, breed improvement, stocking rates, livestock pests, disease control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This agricultural show provides us with an opportunity to showcase these climate-smart solutions and inspire our farmers to adopt them,” Malombe said.
The Governor further said this year’s show was not only a platform for showcasing innovations but also a vital avenue for fostering business linkages. He said the event brings together farmers, entrepreneurs, investors, and consumers, creating a conducive environment for networking, benchmarking and forging strategic partnerships.
He said it is through these collaborations that the county can unlock the full potential of the agricultural sector, create wealth, stimulate economic growth and improve the livelihoods of residents.
He also pointed out that Kitui region is not immune to the ravages of world climatic change brought about by global warming. Consequently, food and nutrition security has remained one of the area’s key challenges to address in order to improve the living standards of people.
He noted the attainment of food security in the expansive county will largely depend on the level of food production diversification and our consumption attitudes of the traditional crops that also bring us a lot of nutritional value. The climate is suitable for the growing of drought tolerant crops like green gram, cowpeas, Dolichos lab lab (Mbumbu), pigeon peas, cassava, pumpkins, sorghum and millet.
The Governor said there is an urgent need to redouble efforts and campaign towards the production of the drought-resisted crops with a view of producing and aggregating enough for local consumption and export. “This, I believe, will contribute immensely towards the improvement of our people’s incomes and livelihoods”.
He said there lies a huge potential of irrigated crop production in many parts of the county. The two biggest rivers in this country, Tana and Athi border the county to the northern and southern parts respectively. There are numerous other large, medium and small rivers across all parts of the county to be found within our five key river basins of Nziitu, Enziu, Tyaa, Thua and Tiva.
The county boss said his government was keen in constructing one mega dam per each sub-county, two large dams per ward, one medium dam per village, boreholes at strategic points in each ward and an average of 60 sand dams per ward in the entire county to enable sufficient water for domestic and agricultural use at household level was availed.
Governor Malombe further said his government will continue making deliberate efforts towards water harvesting through earth dams, sand dams, pans, farm ponds and other water holding structures that can provide water for supplementary irrigation during low rain seasons.
“Availability of water for irrigation will enable our farmers to grow high value horticultural crops for export markets. My government will continue to support efforts by our farmers and other stakeholders in developing our agricultural sector,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock is also implementing programmes and projects in collaboration with development partners which focus on some major value chains; such as sorghum, green grams, improved poultry, bee keeping and Galla goats.
In order to improve on post-harvest handling capabilities of the farmers and lower costs of poultry feeds, Malombe’s government through the Agriculture Sector Development Programme (ASDSP) funded by the Swedish Government has procured and distributed 14 sorghum threshers, 4 poultry feed and mixing machines and 3 green gram cleaning and destoning machines.
The Emergency Locust Response project (ELRP) supported by the World Bank has distributed 1,350 Galla goats to 35 farmer groups. An additional 548 farmer groups have been funded to a maximum of Sh250,000 for micro projects totaling to Sh23 million.
The project has also supported the rehabilitation of 3 boreholes at a cost Sh13 million and the construction of 17 water pans at a cost of Sh17 Million.
Through the National Agriculture, Rural inclusive growth project (NARIGP), which the county is implementing in partnership with the World Bank, 363 micro-projects have been funded to a tune of Sh 151 Million.This programme has also funded the construction of Kavingo in Kyangwithya West Ward and Kaliwa in Mumoni Ward water pans respectively.
The County is also implementing the Small-scale Irrigation and Value addition project (SIVAP), funded by the African Development Bank (ADB) in collaboration with the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program which concentrates its activities in Mumaki catchment in parts of Kitui West (Mutonguni and Kauwi wards) and Mwingi west (Nguutani ward) sub counties. The project funded drilling of 5 boreholes and rehabilitated another 1 at Shs34milion. In addition, the project funded the excavation and construction of 6 earth dams at Kshs85m, 6 sand dams at Sh77million and 10 micro irrigation projects at a total cost of 65 Million in sub-counties and wards.
Governor Malombe said his government through the department of livestock vaccinated 222,784 different types of livestock species and had 765 dairy cows inseminated. In addition, the department procured 3 tons of assorted pasture seeds for distribution to 500 beneficiaries.
He said his primary focus is to bolster the local economy for residents at the grassroots level noting he will establish Economic and Investment Zones (EIZs), organizing an Investor Conference, and holding the Kitui Agricultural Show and Trade Fair every year.