Kitui county has launched a campaign aimed at equipping women with versatile agricultural skills to fight cyclical hunger and food insecurity.
Governor Julius Malombe’s administration, in partnership with Groots Kenya, is spearheading a gender-responsive agriculture initiative under the Rural Women Cultivating Change project.
The project seeks to empower rural women in sustainable and climate-smart farming practices, boosting food production and household incomes.
Targeted at reaching up to 1,500 women farmers, the initiative addresses the county’s chronic food insecurity, which affects more than one million residents.
Poor rainfall and drought have left Kitui’s food self-sufficiency critically low, leading to malnutrition and soaring food prices.
Kitui agriculture executive Stephen Kimwele said women form the backbone of farming in the county.
“On a scale of one to 10, eight farmers are women. When you empower a woman, you’ve empowered the world,” he said during a women farmers’ engagement forum in Kitui town.
Kimwele said the project provides practical skills and knowledge to improve food security while strengthening household incomes.
It is implemented through ward agricultural extension officers, who conduct bi-monthly trainings focusing on gender-transformative agroecology, climate-smart farming and reducing gender inequalities in agriculture.
The initiative is already running in five wards: Voo/Kyamatu, Zombe/Mwitika, Kivou, Ikutha and Ikanga/Kyatune, with plans to expand to four additional wards.
“The project is a key driver for sustainable agricultural development in Kitui county,” Kimwele said.
