SPEECH BY H.E KIRAITU MURUNGI, GOVERNOR, MERU COUNTY DURING THE 2019 DAIRY FARMERS 6^TH FIELD DAY HELD ON 27^TH SEPTEMBER 2019 AT THE MERU SHOW GROUND.

I am very delighted to be here this afternoon. Allow me to begin by thanking the organizers for putting together this successful annual event to promote dairy education, productivity, value addition, and marketing in our county. ``Kuinua Meru tunaanza na kuinua wakulima wa maziwa wa Meru.’’

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of this country. It is a top priority for us here in Meru County. My dream as your Governor is to make Meru Great. My vision is to make the people of Meru rich and prosperous. Food security is part of the Big Four Agenda of President Uhuru Kenyatta and we support that agenda.

We also thank President Kenyatta for waiving debt of Ksh. 400 million owed by dairy farmers. As the county Government of Meru, we have identified agriculture as one of the sectors of our economy that we are supporting to guarantee not only food security, but also ensure enhanced income for residents of this county.

Majority of our farmers are able to produce enough food for their households. But there is very little left for sale. The average production per farmer is 6 litres of milk per day. We want to change this situation. I am happy that the Meru Dairy Union is also working towards improving milk production per farmer. We shall work with you to increase milk production in the county.

We are giving priority to farmer training and empowerment. We are constructing a 1,000 capacity hall at Kaguru ATC which will be used to train farmers on best practices in the agricultural sector.

The farmer is the most important resource in agriculture. There can be no agriculture without the intervention of human beings. As I have said before, crops cannot grow themselves and cows cannot milk themselves. Farmers have to be trained on the best practices on animal husbandry. This is why we are investing heavily in farmer training. We believe that with the relevant skills, our farmers can turn around their livelihoods. My Government fully supports Meru Dairy Farmers Union.

We are supporting dairy farmers by purchasing milk worth Ksh.80 million every year for our Early Childhood Education (ECDE) pupils. I am happy that Mombasa County has followed suit and they are now buying milk for their ECDE pupils from Meru Dairy Union.

This year, with the support of the National Government, we have distributed 62 Artificial Insemination (AI) kits to licensed A.I service providers to boost the quality of animals in our County for increased productivity.

Further, my Government, through the department of Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries has subsidised A.I services and animal vaccines by over 50 percent.

Agriculture is mainly controlled and conducted by the older generation. This is largely due to the manual labour involved and the resultant low incomes which our youth dislike. We must make dairy farming a profitable business to encourage young people to venture into it. Any business requires investment to succeed. We must therefore embrace modern agricultural techniques to make agriculture more appealing to young farmers, and for improved productivity.

We shall soon launch a Youth-in-Agriculture program of the Meru Youth Service. Through this program, we hope to encourage more young people to embrace agribusiness. This is the only way we can secure the future of agriculture in this country.

Thank you.