Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi says the projection for maize harvest this year has increased to more than 60 million bags. Linturi says the distribution of subsidized fertiliser to farmers had paid off in a big way.
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00:00 I really want to appreciate the farmers of this country.
00:06 It goes over good job that they have done.
00:11 When came out here last time, trying to ask them to take advantage of the fertilizer program
00:20 that we are distributing, and which is on course, little did I know that the uptake
00:27 of fertilizer from this great region would mean so much in terms of supporting farmers
00:35 increase their yields, increase production.
00:40 And I'm happy today, and I want to thank you, the farmers of this country, on behalf of
00:45 His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya, that you've made us proud.
00:51 Our projections for maize production this particular year have really shot up.
00:59 In fact, we expect to have over 60 million bags.
01:04 And this is good.
01:05 This has happened because of the commitment that the farmers and the seriousness that
01:11 the farmers have taken in which they have taken agriculture.
01:16 The commitment of government to continue supporting our farmers is real.
01:21 And I want to say that just as the President has maintained and has said many times, to
01:29 change this country, I want to blend with more people to really go back to their farms.
01:38 We've been running a program for registration of farmers.
01:41 We have now a database of around 6.3 million farmers.
01:45 And this data is very important because it will assist us in planning.
01:50 Because of the good work that our farmers have done in this country, the government
01:57 continues to give this sector a lot of support.
02:00 And I want to tell every farmer, don't be worried.
02:05 The government of Mshmua William Ruto is here, is here, is giving the necessary interventions
02:14 so that you are able to get the best from what you do.
02:19 So right now, the National Cereals and Produce Board has enough money to buy maize from our
02:26 farmers so that our farmers do not get into any distress just in case they want money.
02:35 We are here today to deliver the promise that we made, that to reduce post-harvest losses
02:44 in this country, the government must do more by supporting farmers.
02:50 As we sit here, or we stand here today, through the KESAP Crown Project, our farmers here
02:57 have been enabled to have the emetic bags.
03:01 The emetic bags will prevent storage of dried maize or cereals so that they are not infested
03:09 with weevils, so that aphrodotoxin is kept away.
03:16 And I'm happy that our farmers in this region have taken full advantage of that program
03:23 and there is no reason to why any food must go to loss.
03:28 I am happy that as we stand here today, we are now flagging off dryers, mobile dryers,
03:38 that will get to our farmers' farms, that will get to whichever store that maize is
03:46 being stored so that farmers are able to dry their maize into the right moisture content
03:55 to ensure there are no losses.
03:58 The dryers that we flag off today are dryers that have capacity to dry 14 tonnes, 14 tonnes
04:09 in two hours.
04:12 So what we are saying is that there is no reason because of the current interventions
04:19 why we should lose our produce because we have put in mechanisms to manage post-harvest
04:28 losses.
04:29 So the farmers of this region and the farmers of this country, because we have enough dryers
04:35 and we are distributing these dryers to all parts of the country, and this is now my business
04:41 in the next three weeks to ensure every region has received its rightful share of the dryers.
04:49 And we decided because of the respect, because of the value and the pride that comes from
04:59 Washington, the neighbouring counties of Trans-Oia, Nandi, the main breadbasket of this country,
05:11 we are here today to ensure that these dryers get to the farmers, get to the end-use stores,
05:20 are the right people to move around in the farms to dry our farmers' maize or cereals.
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