Thirteen Mining sites in Dabel Location, Moyale Sub-county in Marsabit County are now a disturbed area, interior Cabinet Secretary (CS), Prof Kithure Kindiki, has declared.
Prof. Kindiki has also ordered for a one week rapid assessment in the affected County, to ascertain if there were other areas with mineral deposits and which could attract a problem, akin to that in Dabel.
The CS who toured the area, soon after issuing a gazette, notice declaring the mining area as dangerous, said Kenya was a country governed by the rule of Law and advised that every investment should be carried out as per the Constitution.
He noted with satisfaction that the local County Security Teams had managed to clear the affected area, popularly known as Hillo, of the thousands of illegal artisanal miners, majority of whom were migrants from outside the country.
Prof Kindiki directed the County Police Commander, Nyambu Mwakio, to ensure that the affected area was not accessed by any person, including public servants and ensure
it remained an operation area as stated.
The gazette notice signed, today, by the CS read in part, ‘Pursuant to Section 8(1) of the Public Order Act, Cap 56 of the Laws of Kenya, and Section 106(1) of the National Police Service Act, no person may be found present in the areas specified in the Gazette Notice at any time without the written authority of the County Police Commander, Marsabit County.’
The CS pointed out that it was of great concern how unauthorized aliens moved into the country and started exploiting highly valuable minerals with unknown beneficiaries of the proceeds.
‘We have no room for any security breach’, he said, adding that it was mind boggling how foreigners ended-up at the as their motives could be suspect.
The mining sites that were declared security zones are Hilo Karray, Hillo Hudda, Hillo Qoranjido, Hillo Irress Shindia, Hillo Rabaalee and Hillo Godde Haroressa.
Others include Hillo Gorgora, Hillo Orofa, Hillo Walkite, Hillo Tanzania, Hillo Iress Abamartile, Hillo Gootu and Hil
lo Tessum Qalicha.
The CS, however, asked the County Security Team headed by County Commissioner, Nobert Komora, to allow miners with machinery like crushing units on the ground to move them away.
In addition, Prof. Kindiki made it clear that no any other government agency would be allowed into the remedying and restoration of the area, which has also been subjected to huge environmental degradation.
He asked the County Commissioner, to task National Government Administrations in the 10 Sub-counties and the State Department of Mining in establishing other potential mining areas in Marsabit, so that appropriate measures can be taken to avoid a repeat of what happened in Dabel.
Also present was the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Noor Gabow, Senior Superintendent Inspector of Mines, Jidruph Baru and the County Criminal Investigations Office (CCIO), Luka Tumbo.
Last Sunday, a skirmish between two groups of artisanal miners left Six people dead and scores of others with injuries over control of gold depo
sits at Hillo Orofa mining site.
Source: Kenya News Agency
The government has launched a 3 year project that will address productivity, post-harvest management and expand market access for African Indigenous Vegetables (AIV)
The project is being funded by USAID Feed the Future Horticulture Innovation Lab to a tune of Ksh 104.2 million (USD750,00) in the next three and a half years and will involve AIVs small holder farmers specifically women and youth
This project is also being carried out by the research teams led by Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) , in collaboration with the University of Nairobi (UON) and the North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Speaking today when launching the project, KALRO Director General Eliud Kireger said there is untapped potential of AIVs and therefore there is need to enhance their productivity, streamline post-harvest management practices and facilitate better market access.
‘This initiative is not just about improving yields or increasing profits; it is about empowering our farmers, especially women an
d youth, revitalizing rural communities, and promoting food security and nutrition for all Kenyans’, he said .
He noted that through collaborative efforts, the project will address various challenges that have hindered the full realization of the potential of indigenous vegetables from inadequate access to quality seeds and inputs to poor post-harvest handling techniques and limited market linkages.
‘By harnessing the inherent resilience and adaptability of AIVs, we can build a more resilient and diversified agricultural system that is better equipped to withstand the challenges of climate change and other external shocks’, Dr. Kireger said .
The DG explained that Indigenous Vegetable is one of the prioritized value chains under BETA for food and nutrition security; and income generation as well as a priority value chain in County Integrated Development Plans for both Kisii and Kakamega Counties where the Connecting Research, Education, and Outreach (CREdO) programme will be undertaken on a pilot basis.
D
r. Mumina Shibia, the Principal Investigator for the project said the project aims to address the issue of pre-harvest losses, post-harvest loss management value addition, processing, aggregation enhancing market linkages and capacity building, which is very important.
‘This project highly targets youth and women in the two pilot counties of Kisii and Kakamega that were selected due to their high population density, small land sizes typically managed by small holder farmers and prioritizing the AIVs as a key value chain by the Counties.
‘What this project is expected to deliver and the first point of interventions that we are looking at is issues of commercialization of the African indigenous vegetable value chain, starting from the seed systems and commercialization, the issue of germplasm, and then from there we deliver on reduction of pre and post-harvest losses’, Dr. Mumina said .
She explained that African indigenous vegetables despite their adaptability to local conditions experience high losses in t
erms of post-harvest of between 40 to 50 percent of the production due to sub standard storage practices.
‘ Our point of intervention will be from the pre-harvest perspective such that it does not lead finally to post-harvest even as we address the post-harvest management’, Dr. Mumina said adding that the project will also strive to provide safe and quality AIVs products. Through value addition such as smoothies, coming up with different recipes and targeting different consumers.
Prof Jane Ambuko from UON and Co-PI said they hope that the project is going to move the needle in unlocking the potential of ALVs as a source of possible nutrition for communities, but also source of livelihood for vulnerable groups, women, People living with disability and even the youth.
‘It has potential across the chain, from production all the way to market linkages. We know the story of ALVs is not new in Kenya, but all the time we talk about potential, so this time we hope that with the resources available, we will unlock
that potential right from production, increasing productivity so that we produce efficient quality and the quantity vegetables that is expected and can be accessed by the consumer’, she added.
Prof. Peter Ojiambo, a professor in the Department of Entomology and Plantomology at North Carolina State said the African indigenous vegetables has always been seen often as a women crop and therefore the project wants to ensure that there is a change in their livelihood particularly because they bear the family of what is happening at home .
‘We also want to empower the youth as well, because we know unemployment is a major problem here in Kenya. But AIV provides an avenue for them to get employment and to be self-reliant with the general care of gain over the years through the colleges and training’, he said.
Dr. Penina Yumbya East Africa Horticulture Regional Hub Manager said that as a host organization for the Feed the Future Innovation lab the channel which USAID is funding the project it was a long process whi
ch targeted Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia and proposals were done by over 55 organizations from the region
‘The process of reviewing ended up with us picking only 3 projects from the 55 proposals and one of them was the KALRO one on AVLs’, she said adding that the project is ideal as the PIs will be working directly with the small scale farmers and also the youth.
‘Our end goal, and what we are looking forward to is that after 3.5 years, we will have an impact on the lives of those people we are working with to enhance their lives of course, in terms of nutrition and economic empowerment’. Dr. Yumbya said.
In Kenya, African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) are primarily cultivated by small holder female farmers particularly in urban areas where commercialization efforts are increasing. However challenges such as seasonality low productivity and post-harvest losses imped meeting the rising demand ,
There are over 210 AIV species that play a critical role in addressing micronutrient deficiencies due to their rich
natural content. Indigenous Vegetable is also one of the prioritized value chains under BETA for food and nutrition security; and income generation,
Source: Kenya News Agency
