Farmers' lobby decries death of extension services

KENAFF CEO Daniel Mwenda. [File, Standard]

The Jubilee government has been faulted for overseeing the death of agriculture extension services and not giving enough support to farmers, hence the rising cost of food.

Yesterday, the Kenya National Farmers' Federation (KENAFF) passed a harsh verdict on the outgoing Jubilee government for not supporting agriculture extension services.

KENAFF Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mwenda said extension services are virtually dead across the country.

This is despite agriculture being the backbone of the economy where smallholder farmers who desperately need these extension services, continue missing out.

Dr Mwenda, who spoke at KENAFF offices in Nairobi, said farmers are now mostly on their own with no one to advise them on best agricultural practices to enhance production.

"In the past, investment in extension services was good. It used to work. The service providers were paid by the national government, and the farmers used to get visits from these experts. But not anymore," he said.

He said currently, there is little or no government investment in extension service provision for farmers. And the lack of these services is a big gap the government needs to address.