Deputy Governor Dr.Korir lauds Value addition as the major showcase in this years ASK show
BY LELETI JASOR
The ASK show this year has resonated well with the transformative agenda for agriculture in Nakuru county.
Driven by the spirit of innovation the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, learning institutions, banks, Saccos, and many other stakeholders were for the past few days on the frontline to assist people to learn on new technology through their exhibitions at the show.
The CS Water and Irrigation Mr. Simon Chelgui congratulated and encouraged stakeholders to work as a team and applauded the level of commitment to come up with new technology to solve agricultural issues.
He said, being a water scarce country, the new tech was there to help utilize the little water and maximize production.
He added that knowledge accumulated should be passed down to the next generations safely and securely as well as emulation of vertical production as was seen in many stands for the economical use of land.
He lauded the efforts put in by the county government to put pyrethrum on the frontline as revival measures were aimed to regaining the leading producer of pyrethrum worldwide
The Deputy Governor Dr. Erick Korir said that value addition played a major role in contributing to this year’s show and such were the extension efforts used to pass the message of the supported value chains.
He acknowledged the need to transform the agricultural sector by creating awareness of the new technology.
The government would still improve the Dairy sector by enhancing commercialization and promoting the use of AI kits to improve breeding.
On fisheries, he said the government had already set aside funds to stock ponds and dams to ensure optimum fish population and to deal with challenges of overfishing.
With a slow trend of beneficiaries accepting new technologies and inefficiency of agricultural extension and education methods, CECM Agriculture, Dr. Immaculate Maina, insisted on the need for improved mechanization to enhance the quality of soil tillage, avoid environmental degradation and enrich the quality of services farmers were getting.
She added that together with the ASK 600 plus farmers were trained on various agricultural activities and that would continue beyond the trade fair to improve the information and skills farmers were getting.
The County Commissioner, Mr. Erastus Mbui, said the trade fair was meant to highlight agendas like the marketing and exhibition of new products that were meant to improve agricultural production in the county as well as the country.
There was a lot to learn from every sector and the agendas needed to be linked with value addition and market linkages on a global perspective to enhance growth, he said.
To add on that Mrs. Margaret Anami, the Chairman of the ASK Central Rift branch, supposed there was a need for stakeholders to work together as partners with regard to their mandates to take forward the agricultural sector. This would not only attract local investors but also international ones as was the case this year.
The show is about business and with this year’s theme being “Promoting Innovation and Technology in Agriculture and Trade’, there’s hope to attract investors and businesses, she concluded.