Day: April 9, 2024

Farmers in the country will benefit from clean planting materials to enhance agricultural productivity and farm incomes, thanks to the establishment of a Ksh 260 million (USD 2 million) laboratory facility designed to expedite the testing and release of new varieties.

The processing of new planting materials under the state-of-the-art facility is expected to take less than five years compared to between 10 years and 13 years under conventional procedures.

Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Managing Director Prof. Theophilus Mutui said partnering with the International Potato Centre (CIP) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) the new lab will be launched in the next two weeks.

‘The Roots, Tubers and Bananas-East Africa Germplasm Exchange Laboratory (RTB-EAGEL) aims at revolutionizing of roots, tubers and bananas agricultural practices in East Africa to preserve and enhance genetic diversity of crops essential for food security and sustainable agricultural development

Prof Mutui added that the laboratory will enable the exchange of RTB germplasm-sweet potato, potato, cassava, yams and bananas between CGIAR breeding programmes and regional national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) partners for evaluation.

‘This lab will enhance our capacity and collaboration with partners to be able to enhance the capacity to do tissue culture leading to faster multiplication of the planting materials and cleaning’, he said .

He noted that the three main interventions being targeted through the EAGEL lab to contribute to increased productivity is expedite the testing and release of new varieties in different countries, managing pests and disease as well as providing nucleus quality seed to the seed system.

‘This Lab will be offering services such as receiving Germplasm from breeding programs, internationally accredited diagnostics, pathogen elimination, genotyping and also regional distribution.

The DG appreciated the support from the Kenyan government and the sponsor
GIZ for extending a donation for the construction of the RTB-EAGEL lab under the Crops to End Hunger (CtEH) program.

‘KEPHIS is willing and will support the project. The brand-new lab with new equipment will not only enhance our capacity both the infrastructure and equipment but also will see training of personnel to be able to execute their mandate’, Prof Mutui said.

Dr. Morag Ferguson from IITA and the project manager said the lab main aim will be facilitate the movement of roots, tubers and bananas, which can carry pests and diseases in their planting material and facilitate the movement of that regionally to different countries, different programs equivalent to KALRO in the region, Sub-Saharan Africa and through this enable breeders to breed better in terms of getting new varieties out to farmers quicker than they normally do.

Dr. Morag Ferguson, Project manager from IITA, (KEPHIS) Managing Director Prof. Theophilus Mutui and Elly Otieno, a scientist from the CIP during the media brief on the upcoming
launch of the Root, Tubers and Bananas laboratory picture by Wangari Ndirangu

‘More often than not, there are big bottlenecks in terms of moving new varieties from where they are bred out to other countries. We want to facilitate this and make it happen much more quickly, how fast the farmers are going to receive the materials’, she said.

Dr. Morag explained that what they actually want to do is give the National Agricultural Research Servicers (NARS) a greater range of really unfinished varieties that they can select in their own countries with their own people under their own conditions and then multiply those up and get them to farmers quickly.

Elly Otieno, a scientist from the CIP said the demand for Root Tuber crops and bananas is currently growing so much because it is a high calorie crop and the need for the crop is also quite high.

Looking at the future and effects of climate change and even challenges of poverty, he said that the tuber crops will be able to address some of the problems and improv
e food security and nutrition.

He noted that the biggest challenge the country has been grappling with is the issue of seeds considering how they are vegetatively propagated and therefore becoming easy to transfer diseases and also the challenge of cleaning for farmers to get clean materials.

‘Through this project, we will try and achieve in terms of doing faster cleaning of these materials and making it available to the farmers in a state that they can easily get good quality production’ Otieno said

Data , he added, has also been a problem and what the project will be doing is having a centralized database where all the germplasm that has been developed by the various breeders can be accessed by another breeder even from another country in case they require the material .

‘Many breeders are working on different trades. Some are working on a drought tolerant crop, some are disease resistant, some are working on a nutrition crop. So once you have all these available, then there’s a database where if a bree
der in another country wants probably a germplasm with a certain traits like drought tolerant, then they can easily go to the project database and get this information and actually make a request of that Germplasm go and use it to improve the crop that they have in their own country’, Otieno said.

Otieno confirmed that in terms of production of tuber crops Kenya is not at per and gave an example of the potato which currently production is at between six and 10 tons per hectare far much below that the potential of over 30 tons per hectare which can now be gotten easily.

The laboratory will be stationed at the KEPHIS Plant Quarantine and Biosecurity Station at Muguga as a centre of excellence. Normally on average, KEPHIS tissue culture lab handles 11,000 to 12,000 samples a year for diagnostic purposes.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Enkare Ngiro Secondary School in Narok South Sub County has benefited with four modern classrooms, thanks to the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) that sponsored the project.

Speaking during the launch of the classrooms, Narok Women Representative Rebecca Tonkei said her priority is education as it empowers the young generation to become professionals in future.

Tonkei spoke after commissioning the four classrooms in the company of Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu, Narok South legislator Kitilai Ole Ntutu, East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) David Sankok, Narok South Deputy County Commissioner Felix Kisalu and a number of County Assembly Members.

The first-time county MP commended the school management for the good performance posted in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) as the school emerged top in the sub county with a mean grade of 6.1.

Tonkei promised to continue supporting schools with modern facilities to give the learners ample learning environment.

Narok
Governor Patrick Ntutu commended the learners for the good results posted, despite the school being a day school, saying they had beaten all odds to excel in academics.

He said already, the county government has built a modern fully furnished laboratory in the school to enhance the students’ learning experiences in the sciences.

Ntutu said his government had put Sh400 million as bursary to support the needy students in the county in the current financial year.

‘No deserving child should suffer because of lack of school fees. That is why my administration allocated that large amount of money as bursaries to cater for the needy and vulnerable children,’ he said.

However, governor Ntutu encouraged the locals to take their children to schools within the county so that the bursary given could benefit the schools within the county.

‘Out of the bursary given, over Sh60 million benefited schools outside the county. We want to encourage our parents to take their children to schools in the county so that the much
money given can remain here in our county,’ he said.

MP Sankok who hails from the area said the school stands as a testament to the power of education and community engagement, saying the school started with only 30 students in 2020 but has now accommodates 261 students, representing a diverse group of learners.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Menengai Forest on the outskirts of Nakuru City will be fenced off to pave way for its regeneration and position it as an ecotourism cite.

Chief Conservator of Forest Mr. Alex Lemarkoko, noted that the regeneration of the 6, 200 ha forest will allow conducive clean air for the growing urban population in the city, while securing its boundaries against encroachers and land grabbers.

‘This forest has suffered degradation of its vegetation owing to the poor population that surrounds it, which relies on it for grazing, firewood, and building materials.

‘Securing its boundary will allow it to naturally regenerate, attracting birds and other animals that will position it as an ecotourism destination,’ noted Lemarkoko.

Lemarkoko noted that the 55KM fence, would be funded to a tune of Shs.156 million through an African Development Bank loan, extended through the Green Zones Project.

‘We are creating an environment that will allow the residents of Nakuru to enjoy nature based recreational activities, while openin
g it up for the Community Forest Association members to also benefit given the user rights that they have, for farming, beekeeping, fishing and other economic activities as they allow for conservation,’ added the Chief Concervator.

Lemarkoko regretted that the forest had, in the past been used as criminal’s hideouts, with people being killed elsewhere and dumped in the forest. Menengai crater and view point has also witnessed scores of suicide cases owing to its sharp cliff.

‘We are now going to witness a turn-around in the security of this forest. Like Karura, which is now secure and revitalized, we will enjoy increased security and have a place where everyone wants to visit,’ added Lemarkoko.

The conservator cautioned against any encroachment noting that the bacons and GPS coordinates will be utilized to drive out anyone sitting on forest land.

The forest, whose largest part is currently under geothermal power generation, with the Geothermal Development Corporation, positions itself as the largest urban
ecological zone in Africa, with its revitalization meant to place it on the map for ecotourism.

‘We are also looking forward to making the nature trails more visible and accessible for persons visiting the caves, as well as having a children recreational park that will make it a one stop tourist destination for local and international tourists,’ remarked Joel Mungai, who owns a curio shop at the crater’s view point cliff.

Menengai that sits to the north of the city after Milimani estate has its parts expanding into Nakuru East, Bahati, Subukia, Rongai and Nakuru West Constituencies allowing for the natural habitats.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Nakuru County has taken measures that prioritize the health and well-being of patients, through incorporating restorative power of nature in the healthcare services.

This is through planting of different species of flowers and trees in Healthcare facilities that has a therapeutic benefit such as relieving stress, enhancing the overall well-being of patients and creating an environment conducive for their recovery.

Speaking when she led a massive tree and flower planting exercise at Bondeni Sub-County Hospital, today, County Executive for Health Services Roselyn Mungai, acknowledged the role of nature in promoting mental well-being of patients and the shared responsibility in protecting it for the benefit of current and future generations.

The initiative was a collaborative effort between the Health Services Department, Management of the Hospital and the facility’s Community Health Promoters (CHPs) who were appointed earlier this year to assist the government in achieving universal healthcare through the pr
evention of diseases and assisting the elderly in getting their medications on time.

Ms Mungai noted that since time immemorial, flowers have played a fundamental role in society due to their liveliness, harmony, and contribution to longevity, and that is the major reason relatives carry flowers to their patients while admitted in hospitals.

However, she declined to comment on the one month long doctors’ strike organized by the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentist Union, which has paralyzed medical facilities all over the country.

Additionally, she said since time immemorial, flowers have played an important role in society due to their beauty and they are used as ornamental purposes in various spaces, whether in pots, gardens, landscaping, or as cut flower arrangements in containers.

Apart from that she said there was a need to make hospital compounds look appealing not only to patients, but also to health workers who spend inordinate amounts of time at the health facilities for the support of
their mental health wellbeing.

Source: Kenya News Agency

At least 250 Muslim households in Kajiado have received food donations ahead of Idd celebrations.

The food items donated by well-wishers from Malaysia included rice, beans, dates, maize and wheat flour, salt, cooking oil, tea and sugar.

Malaysian Ambassador to Kenya Ruzaini Mohamad said the donation was a gesture to join the Muslim fraternity in Kajiado in celebrating Eid al-Fitr and also a chance for him to interact with people from Kajiado and its environs.

‘Today I am here in Kajiado to deliver some contribution and we hope this little contribution we have donated will help them. We share the happiness of Idd ul Fitr, which we celebrate at the end of Ramadhan,’ said Mohamad.

The distribution exercise was conducted by the Kenya Red Cross, Kajiado branch.

Sefia Verjee from Kenya Red Cross revealed that their team works with partners to ensure people within the community get assistance during droughts, disasters and also participates in distribution exercise of various items.

‘We work together with the
county government and the local authorities to mobilize those in need of support. We participate in distribution exercises all the time especially where there has been ongoing drought and floods and now during Ramadan we are also getting a lot of requests to support communities,’ revealed Verjee.

Hafsa Hassan, a beneficiary of the food items called on the well-wishers to not only show the good gesture during the month of Ramadan but anytime they were in a position to do so.

‘We appreciate the little that we have been given. There are some people who might view it as small but there are others who wish to get even the smallest food package. On Wednesday, we will be celebrating Eid al-Fitr and these food items will cater for families celebrating. This should not be the last or the only time for them to come but anytime they feel like supporting us,’ said Hassan.

Solomon Tawuo from Kenya Red cross, Lower Eastern Kajiado thanked the Malaysian embassy and Kenya Red Cross for taking an initiative to put a smile
on the beneficiaries during the month of Ramadan.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Controversy surrounding the appropriate location for Aroo sub county headquater took another twist after Turkana South MP Namoit Ariko maintaining that the headquarters should be put in Kapelbok and not Kainuk.

Ariko who currently represents Aroo residents in the national assembly has been reading from a different script from some leaders among them Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai and a host of MCAs who are rooting for Kainuk to be the sub county headquarters.

Aroo is among the newly created sub counties in addition to Suguta, Lokichoggio, Lokiriama sub counties that have been gazetted by the government.

Interior cabinet secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki unveiled Lokichoggio sub county last July and installed Isaac Ooko Anyumba as the first deputy county commissioner.

According to Kindiki the new sub counties are meant to bring services closer to the citizens and arrest insecurity.

Ariko said he had conducted public participation in the area and residents supported Kapelbok.

‘Kapelbok has a larger population t
han any other towns saying that it qualifies and service comes closer to the people. Most developments have always been on the Eastern side of the river and therefore this is an opportunity for development to take place across the river,’ he said.

Further, he said Kapelbok is at the centre of two wards adding that the headquarters will regulate encroachment of the Turkana Land in Lorogon by the residents of a neighboring county.

He accused a section of leaders of sidelining him as the area MP when they proposed Kainuk as the sub county headquarters.

Governor Lomorukai said Speaker Nakuleu, Senator James Lomenen and himself are among the leaders who asked for additional sub counties from the national government and had good reasons for settling on Kainuk.

Lomorukai said Kainuk had better infrastructure and could help in responding to banditry attacks than any other areas.

Speaker of the county assembly Christopher Nakuleu said other leaders would be forced to intervene and ensure the residents of the coun
ty do not lose out on the new sub county.

Source: Kenya News Agency

In the wake of illegal fishing and the resurgence of piracy in the Red Sea, the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) is banking on its robust modernization plan to bolster surveillance in the country’s territorial and inland waters.

KCGS Director General Bruno Shioso says they are in the process of acquiring a modern vessel that could carry out patrols in the open seas and complement KCGS flagship vessel christened Doria.

DG Shioso says the MV KSGS Doria is robust and always at sea doing patrols to make sure no illegalities are happening in Kenya’s territorial sea.

The vessel, he said, has had many successful stories, a recent one being the rescue of four fishermen who went missing after their outboard engine boat malfunctioned and they were hit by a rogue wave while on a fishing expedition. Three were rescued, but unfortunately, one of the fishermen was believed to have lost his life after drowning.

The rescued fishermen were stranded at sea for 22 days before a Chinese fishing vessel Lui Quing Yuan U 108 ca
me to their rescue and handed them over to KCGS.

‘Right now, we are in the process of trying to acquire other vessels. We have had dialogues with some vendors from abroad. We have visited two of them in France and the Netherlands,’ said DG Shioso.

‘We are still trying to see which areas we should be able to collaborate and look for appropriate resources from the government and be able to buy more vessels,’ he added.

Also, as part of the modernization drive and to expand their reach at the Coast and in the inland waters, KCGS is building new office facilities including housing for staff.

‘We have three major projects, one in Baringo; building a state-of-the-art service station for officers over there, it is around 95 per cent complete,’ he said, adding, that more are ongoing in Mbita and Lake Victoria.

Shioso noted that illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing remained a major threat but since the formation of the Coast Guard, the threat has been subdued.

‘As a government, we are moving towards the Blue
Economy. One of the key and readily available value chains is around fishing. The Kenya Fisheries Service (KeFS) has the key mandate on issues of fisheries but we are coming in as an enabler of enforcement,’ said Shioso.

KCSGS is collaborating with KeFS to carry out frequent operations on the coastal and inland waters that have been successful.

‘Right now there are no major violations in our Kenyan territorial waters but we are still a step ahead. We are trying to invest in our surveillance capabilities and technologies so that we can be able to know what is happening or who is infringing on our waters,’ said Shioso, adding, that the coming of more equipment would enhance surveillance.

The DG was speaking in a dialogue organized by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) with stakeholders on Blue Economy – reporting on maritime security in Mombasa.

On his part, MCK Director of Media Training and Development Victor Bwire said the dialogues provided a platform for journalists to get access to sources.

‘The Blue E
conomy is a major thing, a huge potential for the country. We have a whole ministry, almost all the county governments have departments for Blue Economy. We need to see more in-depth, focused reporting on Blue Economy and Circular Economy,’ said Bwire.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The mining Department through the Migori County artisanal mining committees will soon roll out the issuance of mining permits to artisan miners to empower their socio-economic development in the county.

Migori Regional Director for Mining Joseph Boiwo said that currently they have registered 25 mining cooperatives formed by artisan miners in the County awaiting to be issued with their permits to legalise their mining operations.

Mining in Migori is majorly done in Nyatike Sub County with Osiri Matanda; one of the largest mining sites in the county having more than 2,000 artisan miners. The Sub Counties of Kuria, Awendo, Rongo, Suna and Uriri are also partly involved with mining activities where the artisan miners are still the majority.

Boiwo who led a delegation of various agencies that included the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and local administration in visiting various mining sites and processing plants in the county said that mining permits will be given to registered cooperative
s but not individual artisan miners. He disclosed that artisan miners in cooperatives will be given permits through the artisanal mining committees from the county level.

Boiwo elaborated that issuing mining permits to cooperatives will smoothen the mining operations in the county, contribute to revenue collection and ease the monitoring of mining activities in the region.

He also added that the permits issued to the cooperatives will provide benefits like market links, grants and mining training to the artisan miners.

The official emphasised that they will continue to close all illegal mining and processing plants in the County until compliance is met to protect the community interests.

‘We want the community, the county and the national government to benefit from mining activities through revenue generation and royalties to boost the socio-economic agenda’, explained Boiwo.

The government-mining royalty-sharing formula discloses that the national government will take 70 percent of the resource generate
d, counties 20 percent and the community involved will get 10 percent.

The 20 percent allocation for the counties will be added to the budget allocation they get from the national government as provided by the County Additional Allocation Act of 2022.

In August 2023 The National government suspended all mining operations in Migori County and issued notices to machine operators and artisanal miners to acquire legal licenses.

The Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Salim Mvurya while visiting Migori County early last year, urged artisan miners to acquire proper documentation for their mining operations.

Mvurya said that artisan miners were the biggest contributors of income in the Kenyan mining sectors and promised that the government would decriminalise artisan miners to enable them to earn a decent livelihood to promote socio-economic development in the country.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Residents of the newly created Sogoo Division in the new Narok Amalo Sub County could not hide their joy after the Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia installed the first Assistant County Commissioner (ACC) in their Division.

The Commissioner who was accompanied by Narok South Member of Parliament Kitilai Ole Ntutu said the new ACC was to pave way for the coming of Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) who will be installed in few weeks’ times.

Lotiatia noted that government services like Registration of persons, children services, land offices among others will now be brought close to the residents following the formation of the new Sub County.

‘The people used to trek for long distances to look for government services at Ololulunga Town, which is many hours’ drive. However, with the creation of this new Division and Sub County, they will get all government services close to them,’ he said.

The Commissioner used the opportunity to warn residents against swindlers who con unsuspecting members of the pub
lic money in pretense of selling them land at the Maasai Mau Forest.

He reiterated the government’s position that no human activities will be allowed at the mega water catchment area, asking the residents not to be deceived by those alleging that they can acquire land at the forest.

‘We have several cases of people who have been conned between Sh. 5,000 and Sh. 10,000. Please be careful before giving out money to people who promise you land at the Maasai Mau Forest,’ he urged.

On his part, MP Ntutu promised to work closely with the newly installed ACC to deliver quality services to the residents of Sogoo Division.

Ntutu observed that many children in the area did not have birth certificates because of the long distances they were required to travel to apply for the important documents.

However, with the creation of the new administrative units, he said, those services will come closer to the residents.

‘This is a new dawn for the people of Sogoo area. What used to be a Location is now a Division, meanin
g the people will get better services than before. These are some of the fruits we are reaping from the Kenya Kwanza administration,’ he said.

On his part, the newly installed ACC Inmah Gary promised to work with the residents to resolve issues that have been affecting them.

The newly created Narok Amalo Sub County is made up of parts of Narok South and West Sub Counties and is mostly inhabited by the Kipsigis community. The Sub County borders the Maasai Mau Forest and Bomet East Sub County.

Source: Kenya News Agency