The Western Kenya Youths Agribusiness Conference 2018 edition has finally come to an end at the Bukura Agricultural Training College in Butsotso South ward Lurambi sub county Kakamega County.
The Conference which witnessed participation of 800 youths from Siaya, Bungoma and Kakamega counties as well as universities sought to encourage youths in the three counties and beyond to engage more in agriculture as an economic activity as opposed to engaging on part time basis or depending on white collar jobs for employment.
Siaya County Governor H.E. Cornell Rasanga who attended the event’s official closing ceremony thanked the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) for organising a successful conference for youths in the Western region. Governor Rasanga called on both the county and national governments to pull efforts towards successful agricultural sector in the region and beyond saying youths needed to be self reliant to fix the problem of high unemployment.
Kakamega county deputy governor H.E. Prof. Philip Museve Kutima thanked the youths for their active participation and challenged them to practice skills learnt at the conference when they get back to their respective counties. He also encouraged them to pass on the experience to other young people who did not get an opportunity to attend.
Kakamega County Youths Affairs Advisor in the Office of the Governor Mophat Mandela joined the rest of the speakers in thanking the organizers and participants for a well organized and attended conference. He urged his fellow young people to practice agribusiness as a way of alleviating poverty and unemployment amongst them.
During the conference, the youths who attended made declarations that Bungoma, Kakamega, and Siaya CountyGovernments shall enact effective youth agribusiness policies and legislation, in line with the national and international policies and best practices and that the three counties shall consider full youth involvement and participation in formulation and implementation of the enacted policies and legal frameworks.
The youths also declared that the three counties shall cooperate in creating better livelihoods for youth through more gainful employment opportunities in agribusiness and related support services. In addition, they agreed that the youth involvement in agri-business development projects should be manifested as a 35% quota from theCounty Ministry of Agriculture’s development budget.
The two day event was attended by senior officials from both levels ofgovernment, development partners and youths among other stakeholders.
Meanwhile Oparanya called on youths from Kakamega County, Western region and the country as a whole to start viewing agriculture as a potentially rich sector capable oftransforming their lives for the better.
In a speech read by Deputy Governor H.E. Prof. Philip Museve Kutima during Day One of a two day Western Kenya Youths Agribusiness Conference at Bukura Agricultural Training College (BATC) in Butsotso South Ward, Lurambi sub county Kakamega County, Governor Oparanya called on the youths to desist from looking forward to the so-called white collar jobs at the expense of blue collar jobs. “Our young people should be more engaged in agricultural related practices to accelerate economic empowerment among them and create jobs for many more other unemployed youths,” he said.
The Governor said his government has allocated resources to develop dairy farming, fisheries and crop production among other sectors in line with the national government‘s Big Four Agenda on food security. The conference participants – 800 youths – are drawn from Siaya, Bungoma and Kakamegacounties.
Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Irrigation Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri who was represented by the Director of Policy in the State Department of Crops Development Mr. John Mwanuki called on the youth to take up agriculture as an economic venture and encourage more youths to be self reliant by engaging in farming. He said the national government just like KakamegaCounty government has introduced subsidized farm inputs to farmers to encourage farming and urged them to employ modern techniques offarming.
H.E. the deputy governor was accompanied by CECM for Social Services, Youths, Culture and Sports Hon. Robert Makhanu, Youths Advisor in the Office of the Governor Mophat Mandela, Chief Officer Agriculture, Cooperatives and Irrigation Jeremiah Namunyu, Members of CountyAsembly led by Deputy Speaker and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Hon. Leonard Soita and Hon. Geoffrey Omumatera respectively and Mr. Luke Otipo a Senior Adminstrator in the Office of the Deputy Governor.
Other speakers included Technical and Vocational Education Training Authority (TVET) Principal Secretary Dr. Kevit Desai, County Commissioner Jaldessa Abdiruzak, Dr. Matthias Brown from the German Embassy, Trans Nzoia County CECM for Agriculture Maria Nzomo and his counterpart from Siaya County Charles Ogada as well as the Principal Bukura Agricultural Training College Dr. Richard Wekesa among others.