Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) nominee Mutahi Kagwe has promised to implement a fun and engaging initiative to encourage the youth to venture into agriculture if approved as CS.
Speaking before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments at Parliament buildings in Nairobi on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, Kagwe explained that the current agriculture system is too boring for young people to engage in.
He stated that his priority once approved as CS will be incorporating creative and fun methods, such as travel and technology, to make it enjoyable.
“When we say the youth want to be involved in agriculture, which part are we talking about because it is not saying just to grow crops, for example, tourism in agriculture is being involved in it. When you travel all over the world and you see yourself being taken to places where they grow all sorts of things in other nations, that’s an area that can be attractive to the youth.
“There is fintech and agri-finance, these are the areas the youth are going to be interested i, so in a nutshell, the business of agriculture has to be looked at from the point of profit and loss for us to make it worthwhile and revive it. Agriculture for the youth must be made cool, it is too ordinary it’s too boring, youth are not going to be there, the way it is structured today, it’s got to be more exciting with structuring that involves technology, new ways of doing things,” Kagwe said.
Kagwe on livestock vaccination
The former Health Cabinet Secretary also shared his opinion on the mandatory vaccination of livestock saying if his nomination is approved, the vaccination drive will be made optional.
He argued that the only way the vaccine can be administered is if farmers give direct permission. In addition to this, Kagwe promised to engage experts and other stakeholders to create proper public awareness of the importance of the jab if approved by the House.
“On the livestock vaccine, we need to involve all relevant stakeholders with the right information. The owner of the livestock has a choice on whether their livestock should or should not be vaccinated,” he said
“I will use the experts to communicate the issue and to help demystify the misconceptions around the vaccine.”
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