Embu County Government has recruited 95 young agripreneurs to leverage on their digital knowledge in a bid to transform the local agricultural sector.
The initiative aims at modernising farming through digital and technical extension while at the same time aiding in tackling youth unemployment, according to Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives Development County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Agriculture John Nyaga.
He said the young techno-savvy agripreneurs will play a critical role by providing extension services, innovative technologies and market linkages to farmers to transform agriculture into a commercial venture.
Speaking after the completion of a three-day training on Thursday, the CECM said the young agripreneurs will work alongside county extension officers to bolster agricultural productivity in rural areas.
“These young men and women will be working directly with local farmers, providing critical extension support to enhance productivity and ensure sustainable agricultural practices in the county,” he said.
He said they will deploy at least five agripreneurs in every ward that will also come in to bridge the gap of officer-to-farmer ratio that has been low owing to a shortage of government extension officers.
Ndwiga assured the trainees of a stipend at the end of the month after completion of assigned tasks, including digital farmer registration, delivery of technical advice and submission of activity reports.
Trainer Eric Karoki from CPHRM Group, which serves as the business accelerator in the Agripreneur Programme said the young people who are digitally enabled have come in to fill the gap of lack of innovation in the sector.
“One of the services they will offer farmers is market linkage and produce aggregation,” he said, as he exuded confidence that the programme will be a success to the youth by creating a sustainable revenue stream for them.
The recruits are upbeat about the programme as it has created employment for them by turning them into consultants earning without necessarily engaging in physical farming.
Oscar Muthami said the programme is bound to transform farming into a career for young people who have for long viewed it as a job of those who have failed in education.
By Samuel Waititu
