BY MANUEL ODENY

Migori governor Ochillo Ayacko is banking on youthful agriprenuers to unlock the county potential as a regional and national food basket.Ayacko unveiled the 300 team together with Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei in Nyatike sub-county.The two said the move to recruit Agripreneurs was in line with Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) which aims to prioritize agriculture to ensure 100 percent food and nutrition security for all Kenyans.The two spoke after inspecting the ongoing works at the Lower Kuja Irrigation Project-Phase II in Nyatike Sub County-Migori.“This is a key government agenda and is part of the government’s broader agenda to create job opportunities for young people, particularly by empowering them as agripreneurs to support local farmers in the rice, sugar, and other productive sectors in the county,” he said.Koskei highlighted that with fifteen counties already completing the recruitment process of agripreneurs, the programme is set to expand.Each ward selects seven agripreneurs per ward to provide critical support to farmers as well as economic growth.“We aim to contribute to the long-term development of rural communities by transforming them from subsistence to commercialised farmers, with a focus on youth and digital innovation,” he said.“Migori County is blessed with good soils and rain and with the interception of subsidized fertilizer our Migori farmers have been empowered to produce more sugarcane, maize and fish to add to our national basket”, noted Koskei.Migori Governor Ochillo Ayacko said t the initiative will not only bolster local agricultural output but also significantly contribute to the country’s food security agenda. Ochilo also pointed out that the newly unveiled 300 recruited youth agripreneurs will help the farmers in the county with the technical support to ensure that farmers produce, increase their income and contribute to the food security of both the county and the country.