The Royal Government of Thailand plans to partner with the Kenya School of Agriculture (KSA) to offer scholarships to students pursuing master’s and postgraduate training in agro-technology.
Thailand, which has been partnering with KSA since 2022, has also promised to continue supporting the training of farmers in Nyeri on the need to adopt simple mechanized farming practices to boost crop production.
Speaking at the Nyeri-based institution on Tuesday, Thai Ambassador to Kenya, Jirusaya Birananda, said her government will soon announce when the program will officially commence in consultation with the KSA.
“Thailand has supported and given some contribution to the establishment of this learning center (Kenya School of Agriculture) to the tune of Sh28 million to provide some necessary equipment and for capacity building of its personnel. We will continue to promote capacity-building programs at this learning center for master’s degrees as well as scholarships for postgraduate diplomas and other training programs, and that is for the second phase, which we will discuss with this institution on how to proceed,” she stated.
Ms. Birananda also said her government will also continue supporting training of small-scale farmers in modern husbandry skills that will boost food production in the country and beyond.
She said Thailand has so far donated several other farming pieces of equipment to the center, including the Agropro 365 tractor.
The multi-purpose walking tractor powered by Kubota and distributed by Green Africa Group consumes a total of two liters of diesel for every acre ploughed, making its consumption pocket-friendly for local small-scale farmers.
It comes with cage wheels, a disc plough, a rake, and a moldboard, all at a cost of Sh850,000.
“Actually, the beneficiaries of this program will go beyond Kenya School of Agriculture. It will go to farmers of the small holdings because this project is for training purposes. So people from the Kenya School of Government, students, and personnel will be the next phase of trainers who will create a platform to exchange experience and technology in agriculture and convey it to those small-scale holders in Nyeri County and surrounding areas. We have a vision to put this center to be the regional hub of learning for farmers not only in Nyeri but across Kenya and a regional hub of learning for East Africa,” she added.
“(The) AgroPro 365 (tractor) suits the local context here because you don’t need any sophisticated machinery. We need something you can operate easily and that’s easy to maintain and the farmers can give it the care themselves and that would not be costly,” Birananda explained.
KSA Director Rosemary Nyamu termed the partnership between the Thai Government and the Institution beneficial to both learners and Kenya at large in migrating to a modern farming culture.
Nyamu said since the institution entered into a partnership agreement with the Thai government, many graduates have benefited greatly in acquiring modern agricultural skills.
She stated that such skills have in the process enabled the graduates to train others in embracing new farming skills that can boost food security in the country.
“Currently we are training learners on how to operate Agropro 365, the hand tractor that is only using two liters of diesel to plough an acre of land. We have trained over 30 students here, five farmers, and these are going to pass the message that can serve different purposes. We are conserving our soils and farming in a sustainable manner,” she said.
“We have the value addition training where we are training students and farmers on how to value add their produce. As you know, as a country we want to reduce the food losses and waste from the farm to the fork. So we can process so that we can have more food lasting longer on the shelf,” she added.
Kenya entered into a three-year bilateral agreement with the Royal Government of Thailand in 2023 to enable the country to benefit from improved food and animal production practices.
In the deal inked on July 9, 2023, the Thai government was to train Kenyan scientists on modern and emerging agriculture technologies via existing state institutions under a knowledge transfer partnership.
The then Thai Ambassador to Kenya, Sasirit Tangulrat, while at the Nyeri Kenya School of Agriculture, where she had officiated the handing over of assorted agricultural equipment, tools, and exhibition materials to the center, said she was hopeful the partnership would assist the country in tackling the prevailing food crisis facing the country following six consecutive seasons of failed rains.
“The Royal Thai Embassy initiated them (Kenya School of Agriculture) to set up this center two years ago to further promote bilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of agriculture, and we agreed to help the Kenya School of Agriculture to establish ground technology aimed at giving value addition to crops such as bananas and vegetables as well as soil health, irrigation water management, and many more,” she said.
The envoy similarly disclosed that the Thai government would dispatch a team of top crop scientists to the country to train Kenyan agriculture students on improved farming technology.
Upon completion of the training, one Thai scientist was to remain in the country for two years to ensure the entire program takes off and the trainees are able to disseminate skills to farmers across the country.
Ms. Tangulrat said the ultimate objective of the training was to leave a lasting bearing on how Kenya moves as far as improving her food reserves is concerned.
“Food security and climate change are among the very key issues of concern in Kenya as well as for other countries, including Thailand as well. So, what we are intending to do in this learning center is to share Thailand’s best farming experiences in agriculture development by using very practical technology developed by Thailand, which I think will be a great feat for Kenya, and this will definitely be beneficial to the farmers and local people in the long run. I believe that it will help relieve the problem of drought and climate change,” she added.
By Samuel Maina and Wangari Mwangi
