By Prof Julius Bitok, Governor aspirant for Uasin Gishu County, currently a Kenyan Ambassador to Pakistan.
I am a straight-talking but a humble son of a peasant farmer. Farming means a lot to me.
My vision is to skillfully and competently tackle the policy framework that bedevils farmers in Uasin Gishu.
Agriculture is devolved, with its resources. We must make farming a profit-making Enterprise.
No resident of Uasin Gishu will be in the streets looking for bursaries nor no graduate will be in offices begging for Jobs yet we’ve huge tracts of land and an international Airport lying idle.
We’ve a huge untapped potential in our midst.
Eldoret town is fast-growing, all governors, most CEC’s in the North Rift and Western Kenya have homes in Eldoret.
Most top civil servants in and out of Eldoret live in the spiraling estates yet milk, Maize, or eggs products are imported from outside the county.
Apart from KCC, we must have Creameries and Millers under farmers Cooperatives to do value addition.
Farmers must own their products along the value chain.
Farmers lose ownership immediately after the crops are harvested.
Our milk products must evenly compete and push out other products from Nairobi, Kiambu, and other regions in retail shops and supermarkets.
To achieve this…
My administration will maximize on our very own able professionals from the Universities and Cooperative colleges to realize it.
We’ll engage Bodaboda to take milk to collection or cooling centers.
Secondly, Uasin Gishu doesn’t need NCPB to buy Maize from the farmers. We can make agreements with counties with no Maize to sell packaged maize directly.
We must be innovative to run our own Millers, to Mill and pack the products.
We’ll only use NCPB to dry the Maize, period.
Wheat or maize bran will be cheaply available for dairy and poultry farmers.
My administration will inject more money into cooperative societies.
Cooperative farmer’s societies will be in a position to access cheap farm inputs locally and internationally.
My government will facilitate farmers to partner with the Ngeria fertilizer plant, a sleeping giant, and other shipping agents.
I have the connections and the willpower to.
All I need is to be in the office.
I don’t promise but I vow to build a brilliant team to revive and make agriculture a thriving business.
Together, We’ll.
[…] Also Read: Prof Julius Bitok: My Plan to Revive, Make Agriculture a Thriving Business […]