By Okong’o Oduya
Busia County, Kenya: 40 groups involved in farming businesses in Busia County have benefitted from 200 million Ksh grants from World Bank through Kenya climate smart agricultural program.
Addressing the groups during the issuing of the grant, Busia county governor Sospeter Ojaamong noted that was a great boost for farmers to better their lives through farming.
He said through donors such as World Bank his government will make sure that farming activities are fully adopted in the county adding that the county has a favorable climate to support agriculture.
According to him projects such as poultry farming, fish farming, dairy farming, and agro crop farming is the only way poverty will be eradicated in busia.
“When all of us can embrace farming like any other job, we will be far from poverty. Daily we are looking for people to help us, when we have the solution ourselves. Let us stop thinking that there is a better job outside there. Most of the rich people in the world currently are farmers,” Ojaamong said.
He further said that money used to support in local groups is felt more than money channeled to various projects by the county government.
The governor challenged Busia people to put the good use the agricultural development fund and cooperative development fund provided by the county government to empower themselves economically adding that most of those who went for the loan from the funds defaulted yet the kit was meant to revolve.
“The money we allocate is meant to help you people engage in various economic activities such as farming but many end up misusing the money and eventually they fail to pay back which is a challenge to our side continue benefiting other people,” he said.
In addressing global warming and climatic change Ojaamong urged people of Busia to go extra miles in improving the climate by planting at least 100 trees yearly.
His Deputy Moses Mulomi called upon farmers to start preparing their farms in readiness of the long rains.
Mulomi said the county government through members of county assembly offices is distributing farm inputs such as seeds to farmers. He urged the groups that will receive money to put to good the money for their own benefit.
“For the groups that are getting this money, make good use of it. As a county we will monitor, we will be visiting you later to see the progress,” he said.
