Formulate policies that aid job creation for Kenyans

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett

Inasmuch as education is not all about getting white-collar jobs, that is what has been inculcated in the minds of students throughout their schooling days.

The education curriculum is further to blame for such high expectations because it prepares learners for white-collar jobs.

It came as a rude shock to Agriculture studies graduates at the Bukura Agricultural College in Kakamega County when Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett told them not to waste their time expecting to be absorbed by the Government. Instead, the CS said, they should try the entrepreneurial path.

Sadly, advising graduates to help create jobs is the easier part since there is more to it.

Many of the graduates will be wondering whether the time and effort they put in were worthwhile and because they lack the wherewithal to start, say their own businesses in the form of consultancies, they will be lying idle in the villages. Poor small-scale farmers cannot afford the services of private extension officers.

And while the Ministry of Agriculture should be formulating policies that aid in job creation, the Cabinet Secretary was lamenting the inability of the Government to absorb the big number of students it trains every year.

This reflects negatively on a government that struggles with food shortages but does little to turn around the fortunes to ensure food security for millions of Kenyans. Agriculture is the backbone of our economy and deserves better attention.