Kirinyaga farmers benefit from Anne Waiguru 'Fertilizer Mashinani' initiative

Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru has taken a significant step towards revitalizing the agricultural sector with the launch of the "Fertilizer Mashinani initiative," aimed at providing subsidized fertilizers to local farmers.

Governor Waiguru, while inaugurating the initiative at Togonye divisional headquarters, unveiled a network of eight satellite depots strategically positioned across the county to ensure convenient access to essential agricultural supplies.

Waiguru emphasized the county's commitment to supporting its farming community, stating, "The county government has established eight depots from where farmers can access subsidized fertilizers."

These satellite depots, located in various sub-counties, will be managed by their respective Sub-county Agricultural Officers, who have received specialized training from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to efficiently handle fertilizer distribution.

The locations of these satellite depots include Kamweti Agricultural Training College (ATC), Kianyaga DCC office, Kerugoya CC Office, Kiaga Animal Feeds Factory, Baricho DCC office, Kandongu DCC office, Ciagini ACC office, and Togonye ACC office.

This strategic placement ensures that farmers from different regions within Kirinyaga County have easy access to these vital agricultural resources.

Governor Waiguru extended the reach of the initiative to coffee and tea farmers, stating that coffee farmers could access subsidized fertilizers from 28 coffee factories across 14 coffee cooperative societies, while tea farmers could access their fertilizers from all five tea factory facilities.

The beneficiaries who were registered during the initial phase of farmers' registration are encouraged to collect their allocations from their nearest depot.

Additional farmers will be incorporated into the subsidized fertilizer program after the collation of data collected during the recent farmer registration exercise.

Governor Waiguru expressed her gratitude to President William Ruto for enabling the county government to establish its depots for the distribution of subsidized fertilizers and other inputs.

She urged all farmers to ensure their proper registration to maximize their benefits from government-led agriculture revitalization programs.

The satellite depots will not only serve as distribution centers but also as storage facilities for other essential farm inputs, supporting farmers who receive ongoing support through the Wezesha Kirinyaga Program.

Governor Waiguru also distributed assorted farm inputs to local farmers to help them enhance agricultural production and household incomes.

This included 3,000 kilograms of sorghum seeds provided to 800 farmers, with the aim of diversifying their agricultural activities.

The governor highlighted the potential of sorghum as a fast-maturing, drought-resistant crop that can serve both as human food and livestock feed.

Jacob Githigi, the Eastern Regional Agricultural Manager at East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), commended the Kirinyaga County Government's efforts in empowering farmers to produce sorghum.

Githigi expressed optimism that Kirinyaga County could become a leading sorghum producer in the region, and he announced EABL's donation of two tons of sorghum to support local farmers.

“As a company, we have donated two tons of sorghum to the county government for distribution to farmers,” Githigi said.

The company is also looking to enrol more farmers in its contract farming program.

In addition to sorghum seeds, other farmers received on-farm animal feeds production equipment, bee hives, eggs incubators, and avocado seedlings.

Several self-help groups were given tents and chairs as part of the county's socio-economic empowerment program, further demonstrating the commitment of Kirinyaga County to the prosperity of its farming community.