Encourage agriculture in Kenya

The African Green Revolution Forum meeting kicked off yesterday at the United Nations Complex in Gigiri, Nairobi. Several African heads of State including President Uhuru Kenyatta and philanthropists Strive Masiyiwa, Gayle Smith and Bill Gates will be in attendance.

No doubt, food security is a major problem for the continent, and this forms the highlight of discussions at the conference. Agricultural experts will discuss and formulate policies that will help Africa move away from its "beggar status" in food.

But even as we acknowledge the need for better policies to encourage agricultural production, it is worth noting that the main problem is poor political management rather than other factors. In any case, vast areas of Africa are blessed with favourable climatic conditions that are good for agriculture yet there is little or no political goodwill to encourage farming that is environmentally sustainable by subsidising and incetivising farmers through research and development, value-addition and most importantly, marketing.

Thousands of acres of farmland in Africa lie idle because farmers cannot afford the cost of tilling the land or of quality seeds, fertilisers and other farm inputs. Elsewhere in the region, food is rotting away in farms and granaries for lack of a market.