Residents of Kerio Valley can now grow crops, a shift that is expected to change their pastoralists lifestyles in a bid to end cattle rusting in the region.
Governor Wisley Rotich deployed a team of officers from the department of Agriculture and Irrigation led by County Executive Committee Member Edwin Seroney to distribute crops seeds in Chesongoch, Endo Ward in Marakwet East Sub County.
With support from World Vision through their Integrated Management of Nature in Arid and Semi-arid areas (IMARA), program aimed at improving livelihoods of residents through alternative and diversified livelihoods, saw more than 500 residents who include reformed bandits and women from Endo, Arror and lower Sambirir Wards gifted with seed of high value crops which included tomatoes, onions and green grams enough to plant about 1000 acres.
Governor Rotich who has been battling to counter perennial banditry in the region hopes to lure residents back to farming in the region after their activities were disrupted by the cattle rustlers.
“We have lost alot of our people to bandits.We have buried so many people including innocent children and women but now it’s time to change and embrace peace and development,” Rotich said.
In his plans, Rotich has identified modern agriculture and livestock production as a way to empower communities so that they do not rely on traditional livestock keeping, which invites bandits in.
“Banditry in Kerio Valley is purely-livestock related. If we diversify from cattle keeping, we will bring to end the conflicts in this region,” Rotich said.
Dickson Kimutai, 28, said thanked the Governor for his efforts towards ensuring that the livelihoods of the people in Kerio Valley have been restored.
Mrs Elizabeth Cherop who was among the beneficiaries said she was eager to go back to farming after a 10 year break following a bandit attack at their Chepchoren farm in 2013.
At least things are better…I am going back to my farm,” she said, “we hope this fighting stops. We have been turned to beg for food that we could produce here.”
She said before the fighting escalated in 2013, Chepchoren Farmers Cooperative Society where she was a member had planted green grams which earned them some Sh125,000.
Mr Seroney said the department of Agriculture was in the process of distributing some 16,000 seedlings of mangoes across the Kerio Valley.
Imara’s Philemon Kimosop said the humanitarian organisation had resorted to empower reformed bandits and women who were affected by the fighting in the Kerio Valley.
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