Ministry seeks to re-engage retired extension officers

to be recalled to work, as it steps up efforts to revitalise the agricultural sector.
A number of extension officers, without the requisite qualifications, were offloaded from the public service to pave the way for those with the necessary academic and professional papers.
As the Ministry embarks on a massive programme to stregthen agricultural production, it has seen it paramount to appeal to the Public Service Commission to recall the officers.
In an interview yesterday, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made said the field experience of the hundreds of officers that were offloaded was now needed to complement the professional experience of those who are fresh from studying.
“We realise that while the retired officers did not possess the academic and professional qualifications demanded by the PSC, they however, had the field experience in abudance.
“Those with the requisite qualifications, acquired from years of study, have been without any doubt doing great work but we feel they can do more tapping from the field experience of the offloaded officers.
“I have thus asked the principal director of Agritex to conduct a study to ascertain how many such experienced officers are out there with a view to have them recalled into service.
“Once we have established the numbers, we will then make a presentation to the Public Service Commission,” said Minister Made.
The officers who were retired did no possess the academic and professional qualifications but had the field experience that they had acquired over the years.
They were offloaded from service when the PSC professionalised all the positions and that meant everyone had to have the requisite papers for the job.
“We are thus making a special appeal to the PSC to recall such people to do extension work for two to five years on a modest salary and in some cases to work for some hours a day,” Minister Made said.