A total of 43,300 Hass avocado seedlings and 30,900 macadamia seedlings have been disbursed to farmers across Trans Nzoia County in Kenya through the Agriculture subsidy programme.
Agriculture executive Mary Nzomo confirmed the report and said the move aims to support the county boost its crop diversification initiative and stop over-dependence on maize farming as the only source of income.
“For many years our county has been branded the food basket of Kenya and our farmers have remained poor. As a county, we want our farmers to go to cash crops that will put money in their pockets,” said Ms Nzomo.
Crop diversification
The county government has set aside Sh50 million in the 2021/2022 financial year for the crop diversification and subsidy programme. In addition, Ms Nzomo said the department has also procured other seedlings including tissue culture bananas, coffee, and tea. 20,000 coffee seedlings and 30,000 tea seedlings have already been distributed to farmer cooperatives.
Crop diversification is a predominantly important coping mechanism for income, production and marketing risks in agriculture. According to reports, farmers who have embraced the diversification plan since its inception in 2014 have started harvesting and exporting produce to the European market. She observed that many farmers are harvesting up to 2,000 kilos of avocado, earning millions compared to maize farming.
