Marsabit Governor Mohamud Ali on Tuesday presided over the distribution of agricultural inputs and micro-grants to community groups across the county.
At least 880 community groups got grants amounting to about Sh310 million with focus to address climate adaptation and mitigation.
The county boss urged the beneficiaries to make the best out of the extended support to pursue a viable economic activity.
"The microgrants programme is one of the components of the economic empowerment of community groups. It would boost their income generation and reduce vulnerability and meet their livelihood needs," Governor Mohamud said.
Speaking during the event at Kukub Tiro in Sagante Jaldesa ward, the governor said since 2021, there is an increase in the budgetary allocation for the sector.
He said the main focus is to increase infrastructure, enhance extension services and subsidies to farmers and expand the productivity of the livestock through improved feed availability, improve disease control and enhance market support facilities.
He added that his administration pursue improvement in governance and management at fishing-related businesses.
A set of 232 groups in five wards in Marsabit county benefitted from the Sh29 million launched by the governor.
The fund is set to benefit groups in five wards that were affected by the invasion of various swarms leading to loss of livelihoods running into millions of shillings.
According to the governor, the money released to groups will help in empowering them economically.
"The money we are releasing today will go a long way in helping the benefitting groups to put monies into their pockets. We are implementing the bottom-up economic model by empowering groups to engage in small agribusiness," he said
The value chains empowering program which is supported through the emergency locust response project is in its second phase.
"This money has uplifted the living standards of the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are now empowered to make at least 1000 per day from various value chains," said Governor Mohamud.
The governor said under the locust resilience program to support livestock and crop value chain, Sh14m was disbursed to community groups in the Sagante Jaldesa ward.
Sh 8.75 m under the Kenya climate-smart agriculture project was disbursed to support 35 community groups in Sagante with each group receiving sh 250,000.
Habiba Ali, one of the group chairs said the grant will enable her 20 members to advance their trade and investment.
Another beneficiary group chairlady Guyatu Abdi promised to use the money wisely to boost their animal trades.
The governor also flags off a countywide vaccination treatment and deworming campaign targeting over 1 million livestock species.
This is aimed at protecting livelihoods asset and minimising the risk associated with projected enhanced short rain.
The exercise is a joint venture between the government and partners including PACIDA, VSF Germany and Concern.
The governor observed that the county is endowed with livestock resources but various diseases have been a hindrance to the exploitation of the huge potentials in the livestock subsector to boost the economy of the county.
He commended the efforts of the Department of Livestock in controlling livestock disease so as to provide healthy meat for the teeming population.
The governor said in order to improve human resources in the livestock sector, Kenya's smart climate project gave scholarships to 21 learners for a two-year course in animal health and production.
Marsabit Governor Mohamud Ali challenged farmers in Marsabit county to embrace technology and modern-day farming to boost productivity, profitability as well as make the county food secure.
The governor said the solution to challenges facing the county lay in the adoption of modern farming methods.
"It is high time we embrace modern technology in agriculture. I encourage farmers to adopt a broader variety of crops to maximize their money," he said
The county boss said the county government has rehabilitated all of its tractors that had been grounded in readiness for the planting season.
The governor said the rehabilitation of the tractors was intended to break farmers' dependence on the traditional ox-drawn plough adding that water and food security was at the top of his program.