Turkana county government is banking on irrigation farming to end the culture of relief food reliance.
The county administration has set up a 500 acre irrigation farm at Kaitese-Kolioro in Loima Sub County to grow sorghum, maize, cowpeas and assorted vegetables to support 1063 households.
Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa who toured the farm said with proper planning Turkana can easy be Kenya’s food basket.
Wamalwa has termed the irrigation scheme in Loima as a true paradigm shift from rain fed to irrigated agriculture, a move that will end the reliance on relief food to community resilience in boosting food security in the arid region.
The CS said with proper planning Turkana that has been on the headlines year in year out as suffering from drought can easy be the country’s food basket.
Governor Nanok who had accompanied the CS said the model farm had proven that with proper planning Turkana County do not need to rely on relief food.
The CS challenged governor to focus on water harvesting to end the practice of relying on rains for agriculture.
Wamalwa says drought should no longer be an emergency but counties must now think out of the box on how to mitigate the effects of drought with the resources allocated to them.
Meanwhile, Budalangi legislator Raphael Wanjala is accusing a number of county governors of incompetence and negligence.
The lawmaker argues that the county chiefs have failed to utilize funds allocated to them prudently for the good of the citizens even as he decried widespread corruption in a number of counties.