Lodwar – May 29, 2024 +Public Communions and Relations Media)

Forty agri-preneurs have been flagged off to participate in the official launch of the Agri-preneur Model during the National Madaraka Day celebrations, to be held in Bungoma County.

The celebration, themed “Agriculture and Food Security,” aims to launch the model, a National Government initiative designed to empower youths at the grassroots level to play an active role in agricultural development.

At the flagging-off ceremony, County Executive for Agriculture, Livestock Production, and Fisheries, Dr. Anthony Apalia, advised the team to be disciplined and urged them to uphold the mission of transforming agriculture in the county.

“This is an opportunity to empower you. Therefore, harness the skills gained, interact with other agri-preneurs for new approaches that will help us realize increased food production in line with the Governor’s priority agenda,” he said.

Agriculture and Land Reclamation Chief Officer, Janerose Tioko, mentioned that the 40 agri-preneurs from 20 wards were selected from 146 successful agri-preneurs recently recruited in the first phase.

“The agri-preneurs will play a pivotal role in modernizing agriculture in the county,” she said.

The agri-preneur model will be implemented by the County Government with support from projects including the Food Systems Resilience Project (FSRP), Emergency Locust Response Programme (ELRP), and National Agricultural Value Chain Development (NAVCDP).

After the official launch, seven agri-preneurs per ward will be deployed in all 30 wards and will become conduits for agricultural innovative technologies, inputs, and market linkages.