Search for best ploughman in the world enters last stage at Egerton

Man’s battle to subdue the earth and make it yield will go a notch higher when the World Ploughing Contest enters the penultimate stage Saturday.

The event that is ongoing at Egerton University’s Ngongongeri Farm in Njoro has seen ploughmen from across the world fight for the coveted trophy.

The contest is organised by the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) through the Kenya Ploughing Organisation (KPO).

RIVALS

Kenya is the only African country represented in the contest, with two participants namely Mr Joshua Kigen from Baringo and Mr Simon Otindi from Trans Nzoia.

They will be competing against rivals from 22 other countries, including Canada, which hosted the competition last year.

When he launched the contest yesterday, President Uhuru  Kenyatta, also the ASK patron, said that his government will pay special attention to the mechanisation of agriculture. This will help local farmers increase food production.

The President inspected the ploughing machines that were entered in the competition.

“I am seeing some of these highly advanced ploughing machines for the first time,” he said. “My government will prioritise the acquisition of such machines to help local farmers increase food production.”

President Kenyatta thanked the World Ploughing Organisation (WPO) for choosing Kenya to host this year’s event. This is the second time that the country is hosting the competition, the first being in 1995.

TOURIST ATTRACTION

The President urged the visitors to sample the country’s tourist attractions before flying back home.

“Kenya is a wonderful country and some of the best people in the world are found in this part of the world,” he said.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett said that local farmers will benefit from the global competition as they will learn skills to improve commercial farming and use of machines on their farms.

Countries represented are Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic , Denmark, England and Estonia.

The others are Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, New Zealand, North Ireland, Slovenia, Switzerland, the US, Wales and hosts Kenya.