The Kisii County Government is seeking expert advice from various partners both nationally and internationally to ensure that agricultural products are value added to increase farmers’ income.
In this regard, Kisii County Deputy Governor Dr. Robert Monda received a delegation from the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research (KARLO), North Carolina State University (NCSU), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) and the University of Nairobi who are keen on value adding indigenous vegetables and Aquaculture project.
The project, christened ‘Connecting Research Education and Outreach (CREdO) framework for the African Indigenous Vegetables (AIV),' will be implemented in Kisii and Kakamega counties.
Speaking at the Kisii Agriculture Training Center (ATC), Dr. Monda who represented Governor Paul Simba was optimistic that Kisii farmers will benefit from the project as they will receive storage and solar cooling of the AIVs.
The Deputy Governor who was accompanied by the Chief Officer in charge of Livestock and Fisheries Dr. Alphanus Mokaya and several directors in the department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development (ALFCD) assured the KALRO-NCSU, KMFRI-UON partners that the county will work closely with them to ensure that the project succeeds.
He said, the department has a team of experts in different fields including livestock production, extension services, and aquaculture adding the through the partnership, farmers will have a ready market for their products.
The DG noted that Kisiii county is endowered with other products like banana and coffee that should be valued added before being marketed
Jose Cisneiros from the NCSU assured the county that through the partnership, farmers will enjoy maximum returns as they will have ready markets.
“I assure you that we will link farmers to both national and international markets. This way, the productivity will go high and the farmers will earn more from their products,” he said.
Ends.
