ARM CEO, Pradeep Paunrana
The Kilifi County Deputy Governor Kenneth Mwakombo presided over an event in which local subsistence and small-scale farmers received free planting material from ARM Cement at Patsama in Rabai district.
Farmers in Rabai were each supplied with 50kgs of Mavuno planting and top dressing fertilizer, 50kg high calcium agricultural lime and 2kgs of hybrid maize seed. These materials are sufficient for a ¼ acre demo plot of land which in return is expected to generate an estimated net cash value of Kshs. 16,000. Overall farmers in the area expected to harvest an approximate 7 to 8 bags each from this demo plot.
This follows a recent report on national soil by the Government, which deduced that soils in approximately 7.5million hectares of arable land in this country are highly acidic. The Deputy Governor welcomed the move by ARM Cement to donate farm products, as a much needed assistance from the private sector to provide solutions for food security countrywide.
Speaking in Rabai Deputy Governor Kenneth Mwakombo said, “This initiative not only promises to boost our yields in Rabai for the next harvest, but also sets precedence for a long-term financial sustainability programme for our farmers. As government, we are keen to partner with the private sector to embrace new technologies that will improve the capacity for our arable lands to provide food for the people of this country.â€
The farm inputs donated by ARM Cement are estimated at Kshs.1 Million for 250 farmers.