Kenya has sent another batch of 120 students to Israel to study advanced agriculture and water technology.
Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa said the students, drawn from various institutions in the country, will travel to Israel to gain expertise so that they can address food insecurity in the region.
Mr Wamalwa said President Uhuru Kenyatta and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year signed a six-year Jerusalem Declaration to have local students trained in Israel on advanced agriculture.
"We appreciate the fact that the Israeli government has given our students an opportunity to study in their country. We are optimistic this continuous collaboration will help our students acquire knowledge and skills to tackle the challenges of food security in the country," said Wamalwa in Nairobi on Monday.
RAINFALL DISTRIBUTION
He said the country was facing a shortfall in rainfall that had drastically affected food production in the region.
Wamalwa said the country was no longer going to depend on rain to produce sufficient food but to look for an alternative solutions in tapping into technology to help the country tackle drought challenges in the region.
The CS said the students who were drawn from various institutions among them Kenya Water Institute, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, University of Nairobi, Egerton University, Ramogi Institute of Advance Technology and Karen Institute of Science and Technology, would undergo intensive training in crop production, use of hybrid seeds and efficient water use.
He said the students would train at Mashav Training under the Arava International Centre for Agriculture Training (AICAT) in Israel for a period of 11 month.
Israel's envoy to Kenya Yahel Vilan said Israel had opened an opportunity for more than 1,000 Kenyan students to study agriculture.
"We are happy the first batch of Kenyan students who studied in Israel showed hard work, mingled freely with farmers and maintained high discipline. We are proud to invite more Kenyan students to train in Israel so that they make a difference in their own country in tackling food security in the region," Mr Vilan said.
Those who attended the flagging off of students included Vice Chancellors from the universities, Kenya Water Institute and officials from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.
