Cc image courtesy of USAID Africa Bureau
The Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture has dispatched 500 laptops to directors of agriculture at the country level in a bid to extend its e-extension services.
With the laptops, the officers will be able to access information on the latest technologies as well as help farmers identify genuine planting materials.
Zackaria Mairura, senior assistant director of agriculture, said: “The laptops will enable officers on the ground improve performance of their stations compared to the past when information was only availed to farmers at specific information desks.”
Currently the ratio of agriculture officers to farmers is 1:1200, meaning resources are overstretched.
“Agriculture has been hard hit by shrinking numbers of extension staff due to natural attrition, retirement and rate at which they are recruited,” said Mairura.
