Young people have been advised to take agriculture just like any other business venture.
Thousands of youths graduate from Universities, middle level colleges and Technical institutes but they lack activities to engage in, making some of them to be involved in immoral deeds.
Speaking at Posta grounds in Bungoma on Friday during an agribusiness exhibition, Ruth Ndengwa CEO, Kenya climate innovation center asked Kenyan youths to involve themselves in agribusiness instead of finishing their varsity education and idling in villages.
“We have seen many youths graduate from Universities and colleges but due to limited employment opportunities some of them end up leaving in villages without engaging in an activity that will give them money,” she said, adding that agribusiness is the simplest way of making money.
She pointed out that the Kenya climate innovation center in 2020 signed an MOU with Bungoma county government where it has been supporting farmers’ plant different varieties of crops and have done very well that has improved agriculture I western region.
“The climate change innovation decided to implement this big project in Bungoma because Bungoma is hub of agriculture in this region,” she said.
Ms. Ndengwa said that since her organization came to Bungoma many small scale farmers have been elevated to high levels adding that they teach farmers how to produce quality products.
“My organization works with agricultural extension officers up to the village level to ensure that farmers are well vast with the type of practice they are engaging in,” she said.
As one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s big four agenda to fight hunger in Kenya, Kenya climate innovation center also teaches farmers on how to participate in planting some crops and their maintenance while on the farm and help them in looking for the markets.
She said that during an exhibition farmers are given a platform to showcase their farming skills and display their goods to the public to get to the market adding that through the show farmers who need seeds from certain crops can now get them and are taught how to plant, weed and harvest.
“Today we have given this platform to our farmers in all categories to show us what they plant in their homes,” she said.
However, Ndengwa said that the organization also awards loans and grants to farmers to be able to purchase farming materials.
With the challenging climate in the region, Ndengwa urged farmers to harvest water during the heavy downpour which they will use when rains disappear.
“This year we have had the change in the climate that has hurt our crops in the farm. It’s my appeal to farmers that they should harvest water that they will use to water crops during drought season,” she said.
Paul Munyala from Kick start organization that deals with the money maker pumps told the star that with the change in climate farmers need to have sprinkling pumps on the farmers so that they can continue with their farming.
“Some crops like tomatoes are very technical and they need to have a pump on the farm to help water crops,” Munyala said.
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