Kuungana, Kufanya, Kusaidia Kenya- Government revved up to revive 4-K Clubs
For most Kenyans who grew up in the 80s and 90s, the term 4-K Clubs is a familiar one. It brings to mind a movement that enabled hundreds of thousands of Kenyans to have a basic introduction to farming concepts at the primary school level. Using school gardens, pupils were taught how to tend to crops and rear animals. These clubs, however, died off in the late 1990s.
In February this year, however, the Cabinet, chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta, approved the revival of the 4-K Clubs. The return of the clubs will focus on the value chains in the agricultural activities and include other thematic areas namely Environmental Conservation, Healthy Living and Nutrition, Civic Engagement, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
“The 4-K Clubs will provide a holistic approach to positive youth development at home, school, and the community by building on the strength of the youth as active agents to community development. Taking cognizance of the importance of agriculture to the country’s economy, the significance of creating interest in children to involve themselves in agriculture and related activities from an early age cannot be overstated,” says Anne Nyaga, the Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Fisheries and Cooperatives.
She adds that enhancing the practice of agriculture as a skill through the 4-K Clubs will go hand-in-hand with the newly rolled out Competence-Based Curriculum. “The initiative will mould the youth in exploiting agricultural space to become agribusiness owners, professionals, trainers and mentors along the value chains thereby transforming the sector,” she says.
Additionally, Nyaga intimates that an upcoming generation of young people interested in pursuing agriculture and related fields as a career path “means the realisation of a future that is food secure, and one with improved nutrition and access to healthy food can only mean good things for us as a nation”.
All this, however, must begin with our children. As the official 4-K Clubs motto goes, it’s all about ‘Kuungana, Kufanya, Kusaidia Kenya’.
