Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka has been feted by the world Bank as the best county boss countrywide.
The World Bank, has rated the second time governor and former Senate Speaker the best in implementing National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Project (NARIGP).
The award ceremony presided over by the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Mithika Linturi, saw Bungoma scoop three other awards.
The awards were Community driven development component one (Gold), Strengthening farmer producer organizations at the grassroot, component two (Bronze) and Overall project implementation with the most impact in the community (Gold).
“I wish to convey our deepest appreciation to the World Bank for their substantial contributions towards a transformed agricultural sector and improved livelihoods in Bungoma and across the counties,” he said as he received the award.
Governor Lusaka dedicated the awards to the residents of Bungoma and committed to keep his transformational agenda alive across all the sectors in the border county.
NARIGP is a Government of Kenya (GoK) project that is implemented through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Fisheries and Irrigation (MoALF&I), State Department for Crop Development (SDCD), with funding support from the World Bank.
Governor Lusaka also heads the agriculture department at the Council of Governors (CoG).
At the same time, Lusaka has called for a collaborative approach between the National government and counties to strengthen transformation of agriculture across the 47 devolved units.
He proposed that structured and unified efforts between the National government, donors and counties will play a pivotal role in reshaping the agricultural value chains and food systems in the counties.
Lusaka commended the world Bank for sustaining Bungoma farmers by offering training, post-funding support and promoting sustainable farming methods.
Also, he urged the Ministry of Agriculture and National Treasury to proactively engage with Parliament to fast-track the passage of the County Additional Allocation Bill, to enable Counties to access World Bank funds for the financial year 2023/24.
Governor Lusaka was speaking in Mombasa county during the annual joint National-County World Bank Agriculture Portfolio Performance Review meeting that was presided over by the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Mithika Linturi.
In attendance were Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga, PS State Department for Agriculture, Dr Paul Ronoh, Council of Governors CEO, Mary Mwiti, The World Bank Mission team, Country CECMs among others.