Busia Governor Paul Otuoma has shifted his focus to ward-based agriculture to combat poverty in the border county.
The county intends to guarantee food security and reduce poverty with the help of its Ward-Based Agriculture Sector Driven Rural Revitalization Programme (WASRERP).
Otuoma's administration has taken a different approach, focusing on building and connecting agricultural producer organisations to markets. The aim is to reduce poverty in the county by half by 2027.
According to data, 70 per cent of the Busia rural population lives below the poverty line.
Aside from Kenya's latent agricultural potential, the collapse of the regional textile and fishery sectors created a hole in the rural economic matrix, exacerbating Busia's poverty problems.
“The programme aims to reduce the proportion of Busia county’s rural population below the poverty line by half, from 70 per cent to 35 per cent, by the year 2027,” Otuoma told the Star.
“This objective aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 1.1, which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty for all people worldwide by 2030.”
Already, the country has implemented Sh2500 ploughing per acre—Sh1000 less than the current market price of Sh3,500.
The subsidy programme aims to cover 20,000 acres of land and benefit around 150,000 registered farming households.
“My administration intends to contribute to poverty reduction by 50 per cent and ensure food and nutrition security for over 142,000 farming households by 2027,” he said.
“Under this plan, we have established multipurpose cooperative societies at the ward level aimed at streamlining the delivery of services to farmers.’’
Otuoma, who has faced backlash because of his dalliance with President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration, defended his association with the government.
The governor said the county has profited from his strong collaboration with the national government, which is implementing significant economic initiatives in the region.
“I am working hard in Busia and when I engage with the President, some people insinuate that I'm compromised. Why can’t they judge me by the fruits of my actions?” he asked.
The President has visited Busia a record three times since taking office in 2022 and launched several projects in the area, including the multimillion-dollar Malaba-Malakisi water and sewerage project at Amoni.
ODM Party leader, Raila Odinga, has also urged his county chiefs to collaborate with the national government, saying the two tiers are connected.