The government is conducting a nationwide farmers’ registration exercise aimed at establishing a national database of all farmers.
The registration which includes identity, profile, location, crop acreage and fertilizer requirements is free and voluntary.
Speaking at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) Narok Branch on Sunday, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi called on farmers to register to enable the government to plan accordingly while making the national budgets.
CS Linturi further revealed that his ministry is planning to give more subsidized inputs to the farmers to boost production in the country.
“The farmers’ database will help the ministry in planning for the farmers’ needs as they seek to get funding from the National Treasury. We will get to know the number of farmers and their specific needs,” he said.
The CS who was addressing farmers in the county, assured that no food products will be imported when the farmers are having some in store.
“We care about our farmers and we promise you that we will never import any goods as long as you have them in store. But as long as the goods are not available, we will import to curb food shortage,” said Linturi.
Linturi urged the farmers to support the government adding that they hope to revive the agricultural sector before their term expires.
“Don’t mind because the government is concerned about you. We are committed to get the best prices for your wheat, maize and beans. In the next six months, I promise you that you will see more fruits,” he said.
The CS reiterated that the ministry will support all farmers in the country regardless of their political background.
“We are not biased on anyone. Given an enabling environment, we will work with all farmers to support them and ensure they live a decent life,” he added.
He issued a stern warning to Agro vets that distribute sub-standard goods requesting the farmers to speak out whenever they purchase any input that did not do well on their farms.
“Please do not keep quiet if your farm does not do well because of the input, send us an SMS of the product you used, the batch number and company so that we can be able to eliminate the sub-standard goods from the market,” he said.