Kwale Deputy Governor Wants Agriculture Funds Fully Devolved
By The COAST Team
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Kwale County deputy governor Chirema Kombo has asked the national government to devolve more funds to enable counties fully implement the agricultural functions.
According to him 80 per cent of agriculture budget is implemented within the national level with counties only getting 20 per cent despite all agricultural functions being devolved.
He said his county had elaborate plans to distribute water, build dams and facilitate agriculture, but the challenge was limited resources to undertake such major projects.
“Why is the funding of Agricultural functions done by the central government yet the implementation part is done within the county level, it cannot be that 80 percent of the funding budget is spent with only 20 percent going to counties.”
Kombo, speaking on the sidelines of an inter-governmental forum between the Ministry of Agriculture and Council of Governors, said Kwale has over 300,000 farmers doing different farming projects.
“We as Kwale have done a lot and the farmers can attest to that, So we say agricultural functions should be undertaken by counties because they understand better agricultural dynamics that are bedeviling the public.”
He said the county has constructed major dams, one in Nyalani, where farmers are now undertaking farming and changing their livelihoods and uplifting their standards of living.
The county, according to him, intends to do major water provisions throughout the region, but the challenge was limited resources.
The giant Nyalani reservoir with a water storage capacity of approximately 500 million litres is now a source of water for irrigation, domestic as well as for animal consumption.
In his address to the governors, the agriculture and livestock cabinet secretary Andrew Karanja said the government would initiate plans to have all issues of funding, and distribution of fertilizer to farmers resolved before the rain season kicked off.
He added his ministry and the counties should collaborate in the review of agricultural programs and ensure equitable resource distribution across 47 counties.
Through their representatives, the governors demanded that the government distribute fertilizer according to the needs of the specific counties. The ministry, according to the CS, will prioritize investments in research and extension services aimed at transforming agriculture and livestock value chains to enhance productivity, improve quality and increase market competitiveness for the sectors
