Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri has challenged the youth to focus on agribusiness and shift their focus from white collar jobs.
Speaking in AHITI Nyahururu campus in Ol Jororok constituency Monday when he officiated during the graduation ceremony of 72 graduands in animal health and production, Kiunjuri said the graduating youth were now better placed to help farmers within their areas improve their animals for more returns.
The CS, while celebrating 2, 859 animal health and production officials serving in the livestock industry, underscored the need for farmers to work closely with the technicians in meeting the growing demand for animal products in the country.
“The livestock sub sector accounts for 40 percent of the agricultural gross domestic product and employs 1.3 billion people. The young graduands here are better placed to manage animals in their homesteads and neighbourhoods to improve production through the knowledge they acquired,” noted Kiunjuri.
He urged the youth to advance their knowledge in agribusiness and take advantage of government grants like the Uwezo Fund and Women Enterprise Fund to help them engage in self-employment as opposed to waiting for white collar jobs.
He noted with concern how most of the fresh graduates continued tarmacking for elusive jobs, while shunning agriculture which is one of the best paying jobs in the world.
“About 1 billion people in the world earn their livelihoods through agriculture, but our youth and parents are all after formal employment which earns them very little,” said Kiunjuri
The CS also castigated parents who refused to set their land free for the youth to practice knowledge they gained from their respective institutions, noting that young people only needed support to enable them to be self-dependent
On his part, Agriculture and Livestock Principal Secretary Harry Kimtai noted that the department had pumped in Sh60 million to help expand the institution, while promising to pump in Sh157 million more in the coming years, to allow the Nyahururu institution cater for the growing demand for the requisite skills in animal health.
The institution Principal Dr. Esther Ng’ethe said the 72 graduands were fit to serve the sector as their two-year training, coupled with their oath to excellently care for animals was very practical.
“You have what it takes to make it out there among your country men and women,” she noted.