Conversation with Merlin [email protected] · Mon Dec 04 2023

Can you read urls?

I currently do not have the capability to access or read URLs directly. However, you can share the content or details you are interested in, and I can assist you based on that information. If you have specific questions or require assistance with something related to a, please feel free to provide the necessary details and I'll do my best to help.

Based on the information provided from the link you shared, it seems to be an article about the "Wezesha Kirinyaga" program, which an economic stimulus initiative by the Kirinyaga County Government. The program focuses on diversifying agricultural activities to reduce overdependence on traditional cash crops like tea and coffee. It aims to improve incomes and lives for the residents by involving initiatives that bring about diversification.

The "Wezesha Kirinyaga" program involves 159 community groups in its inaugural phase, impacting around 2,500 households, with plans for replication across the farming community. The program targets four agricultural value chains: poultry, dairy, tomato, and avocado. It also to address challenges such as fluctuating international market prices, effects of climate change, and low or no profit from agricultural activities.

projects within the program include a groundbreaking one million eggs project, which involves community groups rearing to produce at least one million eggs per month. There are plans to replicate this project to increase production to 5 million eggs per month by 2022.

Moreover, the program focuses on and avocado production, with proposed processing plants to address post-harvest losses and market the produce. The initiative also supports dairy production, including animal feed production, promotion of technologies such as artificial insemination, and establishment of milk collection and cooling facilities, aiming to enhance daily milk production from 20,000 to 50,000.

To support these initiatives, the County Government provides technical and veterinary support, acquires chicks and distributes them to farmers, and manufactures and distributes subsidized chicken feeds to farmers. The article also highlights the establishment of a pack-house for avocados and a proposed county milk processing plant.

Overall, "Wezesha Kirinyaga" appears to a comprehensive program with a focus on sustainable economic development, agricultural diversification and increased production and income opportunities for the residents of Kirinyaga County.

Is it true that Kirinyaga County farmers have relied on tea and coffee for a long time?

Yes, it is true that farmers in Kirinyaga County have historically relied on tea and coffee as their main cash crops. These crops have been integral to the local economy and livelihoods of the farmers for a long time. However, efforts have been made to diversify agricultural activities in the county, as indicated by the "Wezesha Kirinyaga" economic stimulus program aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and farmer incomes by not only modernizing the traditional cash crops sectors but also expanding into other agricultural sectors.

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erepository.uonbi.ac.ke

The programme is focused on increasing coffee production and productivity within 18 coffee factories in seven Farmers' Cooperative Societies in the county. [Kibata Kihu, Standard] Coffee farmers in Kirinyaga County are set to reap big as the county government implements a massive revitalisation programme in the sector. The programme is focused on increasing coffee production and productivity within 18 coffee factories in seven Farmers' Cooperative Societies in the county. Selected factories will undergo modernisation through the installation of modern eco pulping equipment, metallic coffee drying beds, coffee sorting sheds, coffee seedlings nursery, expansion of coffee conditioning bins as well as tilling of fermentation tanks and solar driers, depending on individual factory needs. The county will also carry out capacity building of farmers and Cooperative Societies Management teams, the youth and extension officers as well as facilitate access to fertilizer subsidy and coffee seedlings. The benefiting factories have been drawn from seven farmers' cooperatives namely Mutira, Ngiriambu, Baragwi, Karithathi, Rung'eto, Mwirua, Kabare. Vice Chairman of Mwirua Farmers' Cooperative Society Julius Muriuki, said that farmers are looking forward to the benefits of the program. "Our factory Karia-ini, will benefit from a modern eco-pulping machine, metallic drying beds and a modern coffee seedlings nursery," he said. Muriuki said the eco-pulping machine which uses less electricity and water will enhance efficiency in coffee pulping and enable the farmers to save on water and electricity. "It is also faster and thus will pulp double the amount of coffee pulped by the old machine at one given time," said Muriuki. He added that the availability of coffee nurseries will enable them to produce high-yielding seedlings for sale to farmers in the cooperative society with an aim of increasing the number of coffee bushes in the area which will in return increase production. "Demand for high-yielding varieties of coffee is very high and we aim to bridge that gap by propagating our own seedlings at the factory for distribution among our farmers," he said. Chairman of Mutira Farmers' Cooperative Society Francis Karimi, said Kiangundu Coffee Factory will get an Eco Pulper, an expanded conditioning bin and a modern coffee seedlings nursery. "The modern eco pulper has a capacity of pulping five tonnes of coffee per hour as opposed to the three tonnes pulped by the traditional machines," he said. He said that the modern machine will produce up to 98 percent of properly pulped berries as opposed to the traditional machines that nip more berries thus reducing the quantity of well-pulped berries. Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter This will lead to an improvement in the quality of coffee being processed at the factory level and reduce the cost of production translating to more income for farmers. "We have been carrying out repairs on the wooden beds every season but with metallic ones, we will save that money for the benefit of the farmer," said Mr Karimi, adding that the metallic beds also allow for proper drying of coffee. Governor Anne Waiguru has said through Wezesha Kirinyaga economic stimulus program, her administration is committed to empowering farmers to increase agricultural productivity with the aim of increasing their incomes. "The county has been supporting farmers to diversify their practice, the traditional cash crops such as coffee and tea have not been left behind since they have a great potential in turning around the county's economy," she said. She said that the modernisation of coffee factories will increase efficiency and cut production costs translating to more earnings for farmers. Kirinyaga County produces an average of 40,000 tons of coffee annually earning farmers around Sh2.8 billion. Most of the coffee is produced by smallholder farmers who collectively sell through their Cooperative Societies.

standardmedia.co.ke

Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has issued a cheque worth Sh42.54 million to farmers' groups engaged in various agricultural value chain projects.The money will be shared among 204 groups to enable them increase productivity for food security and poverty reduction.While issuing the cheques, Waiguru said the funding under Wezesha Kirinyaga programme will support farmers engaged in nine agriculture value chains including dairy, avocado farming, tomato farming, poultry keeping, beekeeping, dairy goats, fish, pig rearing and eggs hatching.Wezesha Kirinyaga is an economic stimulus programme that supports diversification of agricultural activities to reduce over dependence on traditional cash crops such as tea and coffee.The governor also launched 20 ward-based multi-value chain farmers' savings and credit cooperatives that will draw their membership from the groups supported by the county government through the programme.She said saccos are key to unlocking smallholder farmers potential and will be spread out in each of the 20 wards.The saccos have already mobilised 1,666 members and Sh2.9 million in savings, share capital and registration.They will provide members with affordable operational capital, savings and credit services, and information on markets and best production practices. Waiguru said the initiative is aimed at strategically positioning farmers to be the top suppliers of raw materials for upcoming processing industries in the Sagana Industrial Park.Greater productivity can boost farmers income especially for smallholder farmers who have limited resources. Increasing productivity in agriculture is critical in poverty reduction, the governor said.The Council of Governors chairperson said cooperatives are an important vehicle that enables farmers to pool financial and technical resources thus spreading their costs and drawing from the collective members experiences.Eventually, the saccos will be able to offer e-voucher programme for subsidized farm inputs, provide crop and livestock insurance as well as aggregate and market the farmers produce, she said.The funding is the second batch of the third phase of financial support for the groups.The county government has previously disbursed a total of Sh380.2 million out of which Sh210.7 million was issued to farmers groups and Sh169.5 million went to farmers cooperatives.We remain committed to supporting all our farmers to increase income from farming and uplift their standards of living, she added.The governor has supported the groups with computers and printers as a way of helping them to establish the cooperatives and enhance their capacity to deliver high quality services to members.The county administration will pay one year rent for the co-operatives offices, one year salary for a book-keeper who has already been trained and one year statutory fees to enable them kick off operations successfully.She urged all farmers to join the cooperatives in their respective wards in order to benefit from the various services they offer.Farmers hailed the Wezesha Kirinyaga programme, saying it has transformed their lives through profitable agriculture.Cyrus Wambugu, a farmer from Nyangati ward, said that the multi-value chain saccos will enable farmers to transition from subsistence to commercial farming as they will access affordable operational capital.

the-star.co.ke

Seeing as Poverty and Lack of Education top the list of catalysts for child labor, how does the "Wezesha Kirinyaga" program help in combating child labor in Kirinyaga County's tea value chain?

The "Wezesha Kirinyaga" program is a comprehensive economic initiative by the Kirinyaga County government aimed at improving the local economy and diversifying agricultural production. While specific information about the program's direct on child labor within the tea value chain was not provided, we can infer its potential impact by considering the common strategies effective in alleviating factors that contribute to labor, such as poverty and lack of education.

  1. Economic Diversification: By focusing on diversifying agriculture in Kirinyaga County beyond traditional cash crops like tea and coffee, "Wezesha Kirinyaga" can help create more opportunities for employment in industries such as poultry, dairy, tomato, and avocado production. More jobs for adults can lead to better family incomes, reducing the reliance on children to household earnings through labor.

  2. Income Boost: By aiming to increase productivity and income for farmers, the program may effectively the economic status of families, which can allow children to pursue education instead of working to support their families.

  3. Agricultural Productivity: The program's support for enhanced techniques and efficiency in agriculture could result in higher yields and profitability. When farmers earn more from their labor, they may be less likely to pull their children out of school for additional work on farms.

  4. Education and Training: Although not mentioned explicitly as part of "Wezesha Kirinyaga," programs that stimulate economic growth typically include educational components, providing training for adults and potentially improving to educational resources for children.

  5. Community Empowerment: With a focus on involving community groups in agricultural initiatives, "Wezesha Kirinyaga" presumably strengthens community bonds. Strong communities are better positioned to address child labor collectively and enforce norms against it.

Although these points outline potential ways the "Wezesha Kirinyaga" program indirectly combat child labor in Kirinyaga County's tea value chain, the of such initiatives heavily depends on their implementation, monitoring, community engagement, integration with educational and social welfare programs explicitly designed to reduce child labor.