Lodwar – 21 January 2025 (Public Communications and Media Relations)
The County Department of Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries convened a partners meeting to discuss its alignment plan to streamline their support.
The meeting, themed “To streamline coordination on Food Security for Resilient Livelihoods”, aimed to update the partners on the priority areas and project implementation.
It also delved into bringing together key players and Arava International Center for Agricultural Training (AICAT) graduates to discuss critical issues and develop strategies to improve the County’s Agricultural productivity and food security.
County Executive for Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries, James Wangiros, highlighted the need to strengthen mechanisms aimed at transforming the agricultural sector in the county.
“We need to have regular engagements to foster a comprehensive and coordinated approach to transform all sectors of Agriculture,” he said
CEC Wangiros stated that a joint task team would be formed to spearhead the development of the Agricultural Policy.
He appreciated World Food Program and GIZ for facilitating the initial stages of the policy. He noted that there was need to prioritize the development of the policy aimed at bringing reforms for agricultural development in the County.
Agriculture and Land Reclamation Chief Officer, Marian Lotieng, called for enhanced collaboration among agricultural players to advance the transformation in line with the county’s broader goal of ensuring food security.
The meeting also gave development partners an opportunity to highlight their areas of intervention as well as the status of projects they implemented.
A key area of focus was on the status of irrigation development in the county, as presented by National Irrigation Authority (NIA) Eng. Felix Shiundu, highlighted the irrigation potential, challenges in sustainable irrigation development and methods to improving irrigation in the County.
The partners committed to support the county’s agricultural priorities. They noted gaps that could be jointly addressed through regular coordination to achieve food security in the county.
Chief Officers Dr Gilchrist Lokoel (Livestock Development), Evans Lomodei (Fisheries and Aquaculture) and Directors Aaron Nanok (Agriculture), Bobby Ekadon (Livestock Production), Dr Benson Longor (Veterinary Services), Dorcas Ejore (Deputy Administration) and Mark Loupe (Assistant Director Administration) also attended the meeting.
