Tech firm Google yesterday announced Sh100m grant that will be used to train 100,000 Kenyan smallholder farmers in digital skills to enable the farmers up their production.

The training in partnership with Non-profit organization, One Acre Fund is expected to reach more than 100,000 smallholder farmers across the country, equipping them with skills to digitise their agribusiness operations and tasks.

Google Kenya Country Manager Charles Murito says the training skills program will help smallholder farmers digitize their agribusiness operations and tasks.

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Growers in low-income and rural parts of the country will benefit from the grant and training taking effect over the next one year.

“In Kenya, the agriculture sector employs over 40 per cent of the total population, contributing to 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We want to see the power of technology elevate small scale farming. We hope that through this initiative, we will see a positive impact on food security, job creation and GDP growth in Kenya” said Murito.

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The digital training will provide training as well as products and services to smallholder farmers aimed at digitising their agribusiness operations and tasks.

“We want to see the power of technology elevate small-scale farming. We hope that through this initiative, we will see a positive impact on food security, job creation and GDP growth in Kenya.”

This is in line with the “Grow with Google” initiatives by the tech firm that have seen the company invest in training and development programmes in the country and continent through grants and funding.

"With greater access to technology and training, farmers can make their land more productive,” said Matthew Forti, managing director of One Acre Fund.

According to Google, as of today, in Kenya, it has trained over 200,000 job seekers and over 400,000 businesses on various digital skills relevant to their career goals and business needs.

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Meanwhile, Google feted Kenyan content creators who surpassed the 100,000 subscriber mark with YouTube Silver Play buttons.

Those awarded by Tourism cabinet secretary Najib Balala include comedian Njugush, The Real Househelps of Kawangware, musician Nyashinksi as well as Africha Movies and KTN News Kenya.

According to Lisa Rousseau, YouTube’s EMEA Content Partnerships Manager, there has been an impressive growth of YouTube in Kenya, with a notable 80 per cent increase in mobile usage, which means more people are spending time watching YouTube on their phones.