Ukambani region, long ago deemed an extension of the “frontier districts”, is undergoing a quiet but transformative reawakening. Thanks to devolution and a brand of alternatively thinking leaders accepting professional society’s inputs, commendable projects are ongoing in the region. If sustained, they will ensure happy residents.
Kenya’s population is heavily reliant on agriculture, employing about seventy-three percent of total workers. In most rural areas, this is close to ninety-seven percent, earning or deriving part of their income from the agriculture value chain in one way or another.
A few weeks ago, I came across the term “Ndengu revolution”. The term, coined to describe Kitui governor Charity Ngilu’s project that strove to increase food productivity in her region’s farmlands. Like most Kenyans, residents of Kitui were previously struggling with maize and beans farming, with dire results.
As a low rainfall region, poor maturity and low harvests were the norm. Because of perennial losses, few even bothered to farm when rains began. The result: food insecurity characterised Kitui with the attendant socio-economic impacts. Hunger, malnutrition, poor class attendance, dropping outs to eke a living to buy food, poverty etcetera.
Her solution: divest to the sturdier and more profitable ndengu (green gram). To achieve that, ensure subsidised tractor tilling to increase acreage cultivated, enhance efficiency of agricultural field officers, offer subsidised or free ndengu seeds. The result reported increases in yields per acre and per family, meaning more food and money to farmers.
It is no wonder that Kitui is also in the midst of a cotton farming and textile industry revival. The two solutions, offer models to other dry areas on how to solve the food-insecurity problem.
The second county is Makueni, under the leadership of Governor Kivutha Kibwana. In healthcare circles, Makueni has been lauded for her exemplary service delivery. Her open procurement and tender system, has been pointed at, as an example that other counties should emulate.
On the healthcare front, though not amongst the four counties for the UHC pilot, Makueni ran its own version, “Makueni Care”. Again, it has been lauded as a commendable approach, for its cost, inclusivity and care delivery. It is no wonder that Makueni was selected as the County with Best Managed Healthcare, as well as Makueni County Referral Hospital winning in the Public Hospital of Choice at the 2019 Kenya Quality Healthcare Awards Gala.
If you visit Makueni, a previously missing ingredient in Makueni’s agricultural transformation is now being delivered through boreholes, water pans and dams for horticulture farming.
The magic ingredient, is the active participation of professionals from the region in policy and politics shaping. A colleague from Makueni, informs me of regular meetings of professionals from the region, to discuss “home issues”.
If you are a professional in exile in the cities, you have a role to play too, in your rural county’s development.
Happy New Year!
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
