Poor rainfall gives growers sleepless nights

Deputy President William Ruto has said the government was considering waiving more than Sh500 million owed to the Agricultural Finance Corporation by cereal farmers in Narok County.

He told growers that they would be cushioned against losses occasioned by massive crop failure due to poor rainfall. Mr Ruto, however, said reforms in the agricultural sector were needed to improve production and enhance food security.

The government was supporting the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to boost food production. Mr Ruto said the government would bring farmers and AFC together to find ways of assisting them.

INTRODUCING GMOs

“The government understands the losses wheat, barley and maize farmers have incurred. We will hold talks with their representatives and AFC to chart the way forward,” he said.

Speaking during a two-day tour of Narok County last weekend, the Deputy President said the government was planning to introduce GMOs to boost food production. He noted that GM foods were pest- and disease-resistant.

Responding to a request by Mr Hugo Wood, an official with Cereal Growers Association, Mr Ruto said the government was determined to reduce the cost of food production by, among others, cutting the prices of fertilisers and certified seeds.

Mr Wood, a large-scale wheat and maize farmer had told Mr Ruto that introduction of GMOs would end perennial food shortages that have over the past three decades, forced the government to beg for relief food.