- Taita Taveta stakeholders have identified key areas to strengthen agriculture.
- Farmers called for more support in production and value addition.
- Officials urged a shift towards profitable, market driven farming.
Agricultural stakeholders in Taita Taveta have identified priority interventions to boost farming and improve livelihoods.
Agricultural stakeholders in Taita Taveta County have held a forum to identify priority areas and interventions that could help boost farming and improve livelihoods across the county.
Forum ties farmer priorities to the budget process
The stakeholder participation forum focused on the FY 2027/28 and Medium-Term Budget, bringing together farmers, value chain actors, county officials and other stakeholders to discuss the challenges affecting the agriculture sector and propose solutions.
The forum was organised under the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) as part of efforts to ensure that farmers’ needs are considered in the planning and budgeting process.
Participants were given an opportunity to share their experiences and highlight areas requiring support, including agricultural production, value addition and development of profitable value chains.
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Speaking during the forum, Taita Taveta County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Katuu Mzenge, urged stakeholders to ensure that the concerns and priorities of the communities they represent are accurately captured. Mzenge said proper identification of farmers’ needs would help guide the effective allocation and utilisation of resources under the project.
Calls for higher production and commercial farming
The County Chief Officer for Agriculture, Mcharo Mwalugha, called for increased agricultural production, urging farmers and other actors to explore opportunities that can strengthen the sector.
NAVCDP County Project Coordinator Andrew Mbinga encouraged stakeholders to invest in value chains and adopt commercially driven agriculture to increase returns from farming. He noted that focusing on viable value chains could enable farmers to move beyond subsistence production and take advantage of available market opportunities.
The forum comes as Taita Taveta seeks to strengthen agriculture as a key contributor to the local economy by improving production, supporting value addition and connecting farmers to profitable markets.
By Bernard Magada
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