Day: November 26, 2021

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Future Soldier: British army given £8 billion to modernise

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Al-Araby

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced a radical shake-up for the British army, earmarking an additional £8.6 billion ($11.5bn) for new training, equipment, and a brand-new ‘ranger regiment’ dedicated to tackling ‘extremist’ organisations and hostile state threats. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told MPs on Wednesday that the Future Soldier programme aims to “to keep pace with the changing character of warfare our army must be forward-looking, adaptable and embracing of new ways of working as much as new weapons and technologies”. The programme will transform the army into a more “deplo… Continue reading “Future Soldier: British army given £8 billion to modernise”

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Over 1.1 Million Farmers Benefit From Agricultural Programmes

The government, jointly supported by the World Bank, is funding various agricultural programmes in 45 rural counties to the tune of Sh67.9 billion.
The programmes under the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) has contributed to mobilization of 1.1 Million farmers that includes 50,000 Common Interest Groups (CIGs) and 500 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) across 19 value chains.
Under the same project a total of 328 Metric tonnes (MT) of early generation seed across five key crops namely Irish potato, Sorghum, Finger Millet, Green Gram and Pigeon Pea have been produced and will significantly improve seed availability among farmers.
According to the Agriculture Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Ann Nyagah, Kenya requires transformation of its agricultural systems to make them more productive and resilient while Minimizing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions under a changing climate.
Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) she said is what will provide an excellent opportunity for transformation by uniting agriculture, development and climate change under a common agenda
This however can only be done through integrating the three dimensions of sustainable development namely economic, social and environmental that jointly addresses food security and climate challenges.
The CAS who was speaking after officially opening the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KSCAP) conference at Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) noted that the meeting is being held at a time when parts of the country are experiencing a severe drought occasioned by climate change thus bringing to the fore the urgent need to combat climate change and its effects.
“The effects of the negative impacts of climate change include declining agricultural productivity and loss of crops, livestock, fish and investments in agriculture due to changing temperatures and precipitation regimes and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events,” she said.
Agriculture, which is predominantly rain-fed and therefore vulnerable to climate change leading to, among others, unsustainable land and agricultural water management, the CAS noted has contributed to the problem.
Nyagah however explained that in 2020, agriculture remained the dominant sector, accounting for 23 per cent of the total value of the economy with crop, livestock, and fisheries sub sectors contributing a good percentage.
The CAS urged the research fraternity such as KALRO to continue the search for new Technologies, Innovations and Management Practices (TIMPs) and validating the newly developed ones as the Country re-doubles its efforts to combat climate change which is a big challenge
“The KCSAP project interventions are anchored in Kenya’s already strong foundations and commitments to transforming food systems with a broad vision of achieving 100 per cent food and nutrition security,” Nyagah said.
Under the same a total of 172 scholarships including 96 Masters (MSc) and 76 PhDs have been awarded and the CAS urged the scholars to make use of the findings of research that they were undertaking to contribute to meaningful input to the growth of the agriculture sector.
“Scholars have been blamed, sometimes rightly, for spending a lot of resources travelling to the field or to collect data in their laboratories but they have not been as enthusiastic in packaging and disseminating their results for uptake by farmers, pastoralists and other agricultural value chain stakeholders,” said Nyagah.
Vinay Vutukuru, a Senior Agriculture Economist with the World Bank explained that all projects under KSCAP have been designed to help in boosting food security as well as improving the governance status of institutions.
“In the said agriculture subsectors, all the 1.1 Million farmers are now registered in a digital database and geo tagged while 760 TIMPS are ready for up scaling. They have been fully digitized and several of them are being disseminated to the 24 counties, “said Vutukuru.
The projects, he said which started five years ago and will end towards the end of 2022 include the 2018 National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP) which was Sh 22.4 billion and covering 21 counties and Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) is Sh28 Billion and being implemented in 24 rural counties.
Other projects include the Emergency Locust Response Program, Kenya (ELRP) Sh 4.8 billion currently being implemented in 15 rural counties, the Regional Pastoral and Livelihoods, Resilience Project (RPLRP) being funded to the tune of Sh 8.7 billion being implemented in 14 counties and the National Agriculture Value Chain Development Project ksh22.4 billion covering 26 counties.
Agriculture is the dominant source of employment for approximately half of the nation and a major force in the economy, with a leading role in contributing to poverty reduction, adaptation and management to risks related to climate change.
Kenya’s Vision 2030 sets the agenda for inclusive growth and people-driven sustainable development, particularly under the economic pillar which prioritizes agriculture with the Country committing to building capacity in CSA to ensure food and nutritional security is achieved through utilization of TIMPs.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Athletes Want Stalled Kamariny Stadium Complete

Athletes have called on the government to urgently complete the refurbishment of Kamariny Stadium in Iten to enable them have training ground.
Athletic Kenya (AK) Deputy President Paul Mutisya said it was sad that Elgeyo Marakwet is the home of champions and a place where athletes from all over the world prefer to train but there is no standard facility for training.
Speaking in Iten, Mutisya said lack of training facilities has killed the dream of many upcoming athletes who cannot afford transport daily to the university of Eldoret in neighbouring Uasin Gishu county, the nearest currently available public training ground.
“For the elite athletes they can afford to use private facilities but it becomes quite a challenge for upcoming athletes who rely on public facilities to train,” said Mutisya.
Speaking at the same occasion, various athletes lamented that when the refurbishment of Kamariny Stadium started, they were not given an alternative facility to use as the works continue.
“Now that the works have stalled, we have been left on our own with most of us being forced to run along the road as we train,” said one of the athletes.
The athletes said before the refurbishment works started, they were using the stadium even as it needed refurbishment but as it is at the moment, it is completely unusable.
The stadium was set to be refurbished by Sports Kenya at a cost of Sh287 million. The works which were to take eight months were set to start in February 2017 and included the construction of a tartan track and a pavilion among others.
Coach Ken Kibet had called for the construction of a mud track so that training can go on uninterrupted as the works continue.
However, the contract for construction of the stadium was terminated in January this year for failing to meet the contract deadline and a new contract is yet to be awarded.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Gov’t Allocates Sh6.1 Billion For Research Projects

The Government has spent Sh6.1 billion in research projects across the country in the last six years courtesy of the National Research Fund (NRF).
Education CS Prof George Magoha said the government through the research fund, allocated Sh 5.8 billion while Sh284 million was mobilized from development partners.
The CS explained that the research funds were spent mainly in areas of agriculture and natural resource science, biological and health sciences, physical industrial and energy sciences, infrastructure and communication, humanity and social sciences, and earth and space science.
The CS emphasized the importance of research in the education sector saying evidence derived from research projects helps the government come up with actionable policies that address emerging gaps in the sector.
He cited emerging areas of policy concerns in the education sector including psycho-social wellbeing of teachers and learners, community based learning, parental empowerment and engagement, technology – driven learning among others.
In a speech read on his behalf by Principal Secretary State Department For Implementation Of Curriculum Reforms, Prof Fatuma Chege, during the Education Evidence for Action [EE4A] Conference held in Naivasha, the CS said the government was implementing the Competence Based Curriculum (CBC) using strict evidence generated by thorough research which was carried out by a national task force that provided a well guided road-map to the Ministry.
He challenged the education stakeholders to be part of Kenyans to be relied upon to generate continuous evidence to guide the CBC in its roll out to the university level.
The CS said that research-based science, technology and innovation remained the game – changing factor to mitigate against the widespread effects of the Covid pandemic that has inflicted many sectors in the economy including the education sector.
He also challenged the National Commission for Science and Technology [NACOSTI], universities and research institutions to collaborate to enhance synergy and come up with strategic options for addressing the pandemic.
The Education Evidence for Action [EE4A] conference established in 2015 ensures optimal utilization of resources and knowledge necessary to change the traditional education culture to one where the use of evidence in research is incorporated into practice.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Youth To Be Trained As Aquaculture Champions

Youth in Kakamega, who have a passion for fish farming, will be trained as aquaculture champions under the Aquaculture Business Development Programme (ABDP).
The eight year programme which is funded by the Government of Kenya (GOK) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will also benefit youth in 15 other counties across the country.
Through the programme, the government and development partners seek to reduce poverty, increase income of poor rural households, increase food security and improve nutrition in rural communities in the selected counties. It was launched in April 2019 and will run through to 2026.
Kakamega County Chief Officer in charge of Fisheries Development, Zephaniah Otieno, said one of the objectives in the program is to create and support opportunities for non-fish farming actors interested to develop micro-enterprise along the aquaculture value chain through the Small Aquaculture development initiative.
Speaking during a meeting with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officials in Kakamega, Otieno said they are targeting youth with entrepreneurial skills to enable them start or improve Aquaculture Support Enterprises (ASEs) along the aquaculture value chains.
The ASEs are the target beneficiaries who will benefit from employment opportunities and self-employment opportunities along the non-production segments of aquaculture.
ASEs according to the project are youth entrepreneurs, either potential or existing off-farm enterprise owners in aquaculture value chain who will be trained so that they train others.
Those who will be trained will be Trainers of Trainers (TOTs) who will be responsible for training roll out at the entrepreneur level.
The beneficiary youth will be trained on pond construction, hatchery/ fingerling production, transportation of fingerlings and fish, aquaculture input supplier, local feed production, fish marketing outlet operator and fish eatery/café/hotel.
The Chief Officer said the youths need special attention for them to appreciate fish farming as an enterprise that can enable them earn a living instead of waiting for competitive white-collar jobs.
“There is a need for interest based assessment because agribusiness requires that you must have that interest. We are focusing on youth in aquaculture who have a passion in agribusiness. So we would like to nurture that group of youth so that they see and appreciate the fact that even youth can engage in agribusiness activities and succeed,” he noted.
He disclosed that the County Government had established a facility to be used by the youth in producing fish feeds but it has been lying idle as none among them has expressed willingness.
“We have a facility in this county where we want the youth to be involved in the production of fish feed. In the facility, we have machinery that was donated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which is lying idle,” he added.
He said, since youth are tech based and avoid being involved in farming, a method which is not based on the land to produce fish known as Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) can woo majority of them.
The RAS is a technology that involves the use of Ultraviolet (UV) lights to recycle and sterilize water which is then taken through mechanical and biological filtration and used in rearing fish.
“Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) is not land based. These are the things that the youth want,” he explained.
During a meeting with stakeholders in Kakamega two months ago, The Lake Region Economic Bloc (LREB) Secretariat Education Pillar lead, Easter Akello, called for counties in the region to upscale mapping of youth in fish farming to benefit from the training.
She said a budget was already allocated at the LREB secretariat for training the youth to sustain the aquaculture industry in the region. The training comes after the county launched a fish refinery which has already begun operation.
Kakamega County has over 7000 fish farmers with over 9000 fish ponds. The county has invested Sh100 million to support fish farming.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Coffee Farmers Receive Modern Eco Pulping Machine

Six thousand coffee farmers affiliated with the Rwama coffee society in Gichugu, Kirinyaga County are set to increase the quality of their coffee after acquiring a new modern coffee processing machine.
The farmers benefitted from a modern eco pulping machine donated by the European Union in collaboration with Slovak aid and coffee management service.
The General Manager for coffee management services, Martin Ngari, said the facility is set to increase cherry productivity, cut labor cost thus ultimately maximizing profits owing to its efficiency and advanced technology.
Speaking at the Kimatu coffee factory in Gichugu while commissioning the new pulping machine, Ngari said that the farmers deserved the machine because of their hard work and capability in meeting a high cherry production despite the society being made up of only three coffee factories.
“Unlike many coffee societies that are closing because of registering low cherry production, Rwama has consistently increased its intake year in, year out and with the machine at hand, it shall absorb the capacity delivered without overstretching the already existing machines.”
He noted the new machine has the capacity to process 5,000 kilos of cherry per hour thus reducing the duration required to process about 40,000 kilos of coffee received per day.
Before its introduction, the farmers used a cumbersome old eco pulping contraption machine mounted in the 1960s’.
In addition, he said the 8 million shilling machine has the capability to increase production thus ultimately fetching farmers’ high prices for its ability to grade the coffee beans and reduce damage on the cherry as compared to the traditional machines.
The society’s Chairman, Julius Waweru, said the economically designed machine should be a game-changer that will oversee a major change in the farmer’s fortune due to its efficiency.
The new machine will cut the production cost from Sh10 to Sh4 per kilo of cherry processed.
“I call on all my farmers to put more effort into improving their produce because better days are ahead. We have put in use the machine for a few days and we already witness good results. We are hopeful that our members will fetch better prices with its utilization hence will motivate them to improve on the quality they take to their factories,’ he said
The County Director of the Cooperative Department, Edward Nyaga, who was also present expressed the willingness of the County Government to improve the quality of coffee being processed by providing capacity-building sessions to the farmers.
Nyaga said the County Government would continue linking up the farmers to their extension officers to provide professional help in a bid to improve production.
He said the county would continue collaborating with like-minded stakeholders in a bid to help farmers in the provision of necessary equipment and farm inputs.
Isaack Mugo, the coffee factory Manager for Kimatu coffee factory, said the new machine will help the farmers improve their output and realize better prices.
“Having tested the machine for a few days, the production rate is fast because we are processing between 20 to 25 tons of cherry in a day, translating to about 5 tones in an hour.
The coffee society’s two other coffee factories are Muthigi-ini and Muburi.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Sh55 Million Emgwen Technical College Commissioned

A Sh55 million Emgwen Technical and Vocational College (TVC) located in Kilibwoni ward, Nandi County has been commissioned.
The College which is less than a year old with four tutors from Public Service offers diversified vocational, technical and industrial skills relevant in response to market demands for global development.
According to the institution Principal Mrs Evelyn Ruto, the vision of the College is to deliver a high-quality competent workforce for sustainable social economic and environmental developments.
“When we equip our youth with technical skills, we are not only making them employable but instilling entrepreneurship skills that make them escape poverty. TVC offers that skills that makes them productivity in life,” she said.
The new institute is set to become a center of excellence in Building and Civil Engineering.
Other courses being offered include Diploma in Information Studies, Certificate in Artisan Masonry and Plumbing, Craft certificate in Information Studies among others.
Emgwen College joins other registered Technical colleges in the County like Olessos, Tinderet and Cheptarit Technical and Vocational College, Aldai and Kaiboi Technical Training Institute among others.
In 2013, the Government embarked on a vigorous programme of equipping its youth with technical skills needed to drive its Big 4 Agenda.
It increased the Technical Institutions from 52 in 2013 to 238 in 2021 at a cost of Sh 10.6 billion. Out of 238 Technical Institutions 192 are operational and 46 are nearing completion.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Uasin Gishu Plans To Install 9004 LED Street Lights

The County government of Uasin Gishu plans to install 9004 LED street lights in urban areas and upcoming trading centre across the county to encourage a 24-hour economy by the end of 2022.
The county’s 2018-2022 Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) envisions that the lighting project will enable businesses to operate in a secure environment.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago said the county has surpassed the lighting connectivity target both in rural and urban areas by over 1, 400 LED Street Lights this year.
According to the governor, 6,404 LED Street Lights have been installed, 30 High Mast and 32 15m floodlights have also been installed. In addition, 256 solar lights have also been installed across the county.
“The street lighting programme will be a major boost to businesses as it enables traders to work 24 hours and this will increase incomes and enhance the quality of life apart from improving security,” said the governor.
Speaking while commissioning the street lights program at Kuinet centre Mandago who was accompanied by Kuinet Ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Gilbert Bett, said most of the townships can now safely operate on a 24hour basis under a secure environment.
“Most of the townships are now safe and people living where this project has successfully been implemented need to utilize these lights in growing their economy,” said Mandago.
He challenged the youth in the county to take advantage of the newly established markets and other townships’ security lights programme to engage in income-generating activities to better themselves economically.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Seed Company Appoints New Managing Director

The Kenya Seed Company has appointed Mr Fred Oloibe as the new Managing Director (MD) for a period of three years.
Oloibe has been acting Managing Director for a period of one and half years after Mr Azariah Soi who was on the seat proceeded on terminal leave pending his retirement.
“The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Fred K. Oloibe as the Managing Director of Kenya Seed Company Ltd for a period of three years with effect from the 8th November, 2021 following a Gazette Notice No. 12168 by Mr Peter G. Munya, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co- operatives,” a statement from KSC Board read.
The appointment comes after a competitive exercise that saw 33 candidates applying for the position, out of which 12 were shortlisted. Six candidates proceeded to the final vetting before three names were picked and forwarded to the Cabinet Secretary.
Oloibe emerged the best after beating Mr Mumia Koroti, Head of Finance for Kwale International Sugar Company and Mr Moses Owino, Manager Sony Sugar.
He previously worked as Manager for Strategy, Planning and Business Development at the Kitale based company.
Speaking to Kenya News Agency, Oloibe, who has served the company for about eight years, thanked the Cabinet Secretary and the KSC Board for the appointment.
He promised to embrace an open-door policy to enable wide and fruitful consultations for the company’s good and development.
“I thank the CS and the Board for having faith in me. I vow to continue with the company’s restructuring programme initiated in 18 months aimed at producing sufficient and top quality seeds for Kenyan farmers to enable boost the country’s food security,” he told KNA.
The new MD holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Nairobi and a Master Degree in Business Administration from Jomo Kenyatta of Agriculture and Technology.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Organizations Asked To Collaborate To Promote ICT Sector

Organizations in the country have been urged to partner and develop products and solutions that have impact and can address technological challenges being experienced in the country.
The Principal Secretary, State Department for ICT and Innovation, Jerome Ochieng said for organizations to remain competitive in this new business and economic environment, they need to adopt new strategies and practices with technology at the forefront.
Jerome said it is commendable that digital adoption and transformation have been prioritized at both the organizational and industry levels in a bid to respond and reach consumers who have moved towards online platforms.
Speaking during the launch of the Africa Centre for Women Information and Communications Technology E-Learning Platform at a Nairobi hotel today, the PS said Kenya has responded well towards digital transformation due to the strong legal, institutional and regulatory environment the government has put in place to promote the growth of the ICT sector.
“Kenya ranks in the top five in Africa in the several key sector indicators including infrastructure, mobile broadband coverage, digital content and services, and second in Africa in access to digital and digitally enabled jobs,” said Jerome.
He at the same time announced that the country’s mobile phone penetration is at approximately 110 per cent while nearly 58 per cent of all mobile connections in the country have access to broadband connectivity of 3G, 4G and 5G.
“This is an indication that a large population access digital services and that government programmes are geared towards promoting a vibrant, investor-friendly, citizen ICT sector,” he added.
He at the same time commended the Africa Centre for Women Information and Communications Technology’s e-learning platform which aims at alleviating poverty, promoting inclusion, and improving the socio-economic wellbeing of society.
The PS also lauded the program for providing women an opportunity to start entrepreneurial space which reported a job linkage rate of 78 per cent with most beneficiaries leaning towards digital jobs.
Through the platform, the Centre has successfully implemented its woman and youth workforce development programs by targeting and reaching 2000 disadvantaged women and youth aged between 18 to 34 years with market driven digital skills, job market readiness skills and virtual psychosocial support programs.
The Centre which has partnered with Microsoft, also seeks to accelerate ICT skills for 300,000 youth in the next three years to ensure an inclusive economic recovery post Covid-19.

Source: Kenya News Agency