Kenya has sent a batch of 120 students to Israel for advanced study in agriculture and water technology.
Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa mentioned that the students were all drawn from different schools within the country and were to travel to Israel to gain skills to curb food insecurity within the country.
According to the CS, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had signed a 6-year Jerusalem Declaration on local students training in Israel on advanced irrigation.
"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," Wamalwa stated.
This comes after a shortfall of rainfall that affected food production in the country.
Mr Wamalwa asserted that the country was no longer going to depend only on rain to produce sufficient food but would invest in alternative options like advanced technology to help curb drought and produce challenges.
The select students are to undergo extensive training in crop production, sufficient water use and use of hybrid seeds.
The students are set to train at Mashav Training under the Arava International Centre for Agriculture Training (AICAT) for a period of 11 months.
Israel’s envoy Yahel Vilan confirmed that they had more than 1000 vacancies for Kenyan students to study.
In attendance of the flagging off of the students included the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Vice Chancellors from the respective universities and the Kenya Water Institute.
