Agriculture
Baringo governor Benjamin Cheboi has challenged farmers in the county to adopt climate-smart practices in order to cushion themselves from the adverse effects of climate change.
Speaking when he presided over this year’s Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Show in Kabarnet town, Governor Cheboi stated that farmers from the region have already started to feel the effects of the June, July and August rains which led to destruction of agricultural land.
He noted that the phenomena which not only impacted negatively on food security but also the livelihoods of families across the county has necessitated use of innovative, responsive and proactive agricultural approaches. “Climate Smart Agriculture is no longer an option, it is a solution to secure food production in the case of climate variability while minimizing our environmental conflicts,” Cheboi said.
Kenya Forest Service Band from Londiani entertains the public during the official opening of the 2024 Baringo Branch Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Show in Kabarnet town on Friday.
The governor who was accompanied by Baringo ASK Branch Chairman Isaac Chemng’orem said his administration has taken drastic steps in addressing the global challenge like encouraging agroforestry, promoting drought resilient crops as well as improving irrigation systems in the region whose 90 percent of the population depend on crop and livestock productivity.
He added that the county government in collaboration with the national government is implementing effective solutions such as nutrition value, mobile applications, sectors driven decision making, enumeration and crop filing by farmers to scale up farming across the 30 Wards of the county.
“Recently 148 staff were recruited and deployed at Ward level to offer extension services to improve productivity which has brought down the dependency from one officer to 1,800 farmers to currently one to 600 which is still below the international standards of staff of one to 400 but we intend to work towards that figure in the next three years,” the county boss said.
Officers from the National Police Service engage in a tug of war with their Magereza counterparts during this year’s Baringo Branch Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Show in Kabarnet town.
Chemng’orem in his remarks highlighted the great role the show plays in promoting excellence in agriculture and trade by providing a forum for exchange of agribusiness information that is geared towards commercial agriculture and growth of allied industries in the region.
He commended the over 40 exhibitors who displayed their wide range of technologies and information for farmers, students and the general public, noting that such events enhance wealth creation and the well-being of the people.
The three-day annual event attended by other local leaders including Baringo County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa and deputy governor Eng Felix Kimaiyo rallied under the theme “Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture and Trade initiatives for Sustainable Economic Growth,”