Partly False Headline: Stop over-reliance on cane farming, CS tells Western

An article by The Star claimed that Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa said the Western region should stop over-relying on cane farming.

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 the 12th of July 2021.

We discovered a buzz about the launch of the fish processing plant. 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 all the evidence 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 focus of the launch was more about new opportunities that the region can explore.

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

There was also no official press release to back up The Star’s claims.

PesaCheck 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.

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