By Peter Ochieng
Faulu Bank, a subsidiary of Old Mutual Limited has announced a strategic partnership with Irri-Hub Ke Limited, an innovative agriculture company specializing in technology-driven irrigation solutions.
This collaboration aims to empower small holder-farmers by providing them with access to affordable, efficient, and sustainable irrigation products to enhance agricultural productivity and resilience, in the face of climate change.
The partnership between Faulu Bank and Irri-Hub Ke Limited is aimed at providing small-holder farmers with access to various targeted products, including solar pumps, drip kits, dam liners and solar dryers.
“We are excited to partner with Irri-Hub Ke Limited to offer innovative irrigation solutions to small-holder farmers,” said Justus Kittony, Head of Business Growth & Bancassurance at Faulu Bank.
“By combining our financial resources and expertise with Irri-Hub Ke’s technology-driven products, we aim to empower farmers to adapt to climate change, increase their agricultural productivity, and achieve their financial goals,” he added.
Eric Onchonga, the Chief Executive Officer at Irri-Hub Ke Limited said the collaboration seeks to transform agriculture through technology.
“Our collaboration with Faulu Bank underscores our commitment to transforming agriculture through technology,” he said.
“Together, we will enable small-holder farmers to harness the power of sustainable irrigation solutions, improve food production, and build resilience in the face of climate change.”
Through the partnership, small-holder farmers will benefit from Faulu Bank’s financial expertise and Irri-Hub Ke’s innovative irrigation solutions.
The Bank will provide accessible financing options to farmers for the acquisition of Irri-Hub Ke’s products, thereby enhancing agricultural productivity, improving livelihoods, and promoting food security in rural communities.
The collaboration is in line with the government’s bid to facilitate adoption of new technologies and innovations, so as to transform low agricultural productivity in the country.
During the opening of the African Conference on Agricultural Technologies (ACAT) in October 2023, President William Ruto in a statement read on his behalf by agriculture cabinet secretary Mithika Linturi, said the government will assist farmers to adopt new knowledge, in order to enhance food production capacities to make Kenya food secure.
The President noted that the use of science, technology, and innovations in agriculture is a powerful tool that can achieve two goals of improving productivity across value chains, while at the same time building resilience to the effects of climate change.
