By Halima Kahiya

An article by The Star claimed that Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa called on the Western region leadership to explore other agricultural frontiers instead of relying on sugarcane farming. In recent years, sugarcane farming has witnessed a drop in profitability for farmers.

According to the article, Wamalwa made the remarks during the Kakamega county fish processing plant launch on 12 July 2021.

We discovered a buzz about the launch of the fish processing plant after the event attracted several dignitaries, according to a tweet by Kisii Governor James Ongwae. 

The focus of the gathering was more on opportunities and the immense potential for fish production, with 6,976 farmers set to benefit from the project. CS Wamalwa also tweeted about the opportunities and positive impact of the fish processing plant in the region.

An analysis of the evidence shows that the Cabinet Secretary did not call on residents to stop over-reliance on sugarcane farming. 

From his speech, there is no concrete evidence that backs the claim that the CS has asked the Western region to stop over-relying on cane farming. The launch’s focus was on new opportunities that the region could explore.

“Cane farmers should start diversifying in fish produce to tap on foreign markets,” said Wamalwa.

Furthermore, there was no official press release to back up The Star’s claims.

Wajir Community Radio has fact-checked the claim that CS Wamalwa has told farmers and stakeholders in the Western region to stop over-relying on cane farming and finds it to have a partly false headline.

Image: A farmer harvesting sugarcane in western Kenya. Source: Farmerreviewafrica.com

This story was produced by Wajir Community Radio in partnership with Code for Africa, Kenya Community Media Network (KCOMNET) and the Catholic Media Council with support from the German Cooperation as a part of the Our County Our Responsibility project.