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State to boost agricultural extension services, says Ruto

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Published on Sunday, 25 January 2009 22:05

The Government has hired more than 300 agricultural extension officers to educate farmers on modern agricultural technologies, Agriculture Minister William Ruto has said.  Mr Ruto made the remarks, in a speech read on his behalf by the deputy director of Marketing Development and Information Zakayo Magara, during a farmers’ field day at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari) Kisii Centre, yesterday.

He said efforts were being made to increase the research-extension linkage activities through the posting of research liaison officers at all Kari centres.  Ruto said the Government would revive the defunct district farming system teams along with the transformed agricultural training centres to catalyse technology transfer.

To increase productivity, Ruto said there was need for farmers to adopt appropriate farming technologies. Ruto said Kari along with other public agricultural research institutions and universities have over the years developed suitable technologies, which if adopted would improve the economy.

The minister said costly farm inputs, outdated farming techniques and unpredictable weather were to blame for the current food scarcity. He said Kari-Kisii Centre continues to undertake research aimed at accelerating agricultural productivity in the region, saying the facility, established half a century ago covers an area of 11, 000 square kilometres, most of which is arable land.