Farmers in Siaya County have been challenged to embrace mixed farming to increase production, achieve food sustainability in the region, and create employment opportunities for the youth.
Speaking during the marking of World Food Day in the County, Siaya Governor James Orengo said that the specific objectives of his administration are to continue raising awareness and mobilize collective action to improve food and nutrition security in Siaya.
He added that giving solutions for addressing food productivity, production and water management will go a long way in addressing current and future challenges to food security in Siaya.
Siaya CEC for Agriculture Sylvester K’koth urged farmers to take World Food Day seriously as it is the day they take stock of what they have done as the community on matters of food and nutrition security.
“We encourage everybody to do the little they can. The farmer who gives us one bag of maize plays a very important role. but we want to move to more than one bag. If a household has a wife then we expect production of more than 10 bags,” said the CEC.
K’Okoth stated that as a county government, they have put much focus and commitment to the enhancement of food security.
He noted that Siaya is the only county that has met the African Union (AU) requirement that stipulates that every member state should set aside at least 10 per cent of its development budget towards agriculture.
In a statement, the CCO for Agriculture Elizabeth Adongo said the county leadership is committed to transforming the county’s farming sector which will in turn contribute to human health, food and nutrition security, economic prosperity, market access, and sustainable development.
On his part, the Chairperson of the Siaya County Assembly Agriculture Committee Frederick Omoro said with proper budget allocation for agriculture, Siaya will be able to achieve food security and nutrition for its residents.
MCA Omoro stated that as the county assembly, they are looking at how they can enhance the budget in agriculture.
The MCA also urged the agricultural department to liaise with the Kenya Bureau of Statistics to update their data for planning.
At the same time, he called upon farmers to get registered as the registration process is about to end.
KBC Digital
