State under pressure to embrace green revolution


Published on 26/05/2009

By John Oyuke

Kenya is under pressure to begin a major land reclamation initiative and increase investment in environmentally sustainable agricultural systems.

The demand for action comes at a time when poor crop harvests and high food prices threaten to plunge the country deeper into poverty and hunger.

Agriculture Minister William Ruto cautioned that the country is facing food security challenges as the about 20 per cent of its productive land is under severe strain and could soon fail to guard against hunger.

"We are facing serious conflict in high potential areas due to human settlement, agricultural activities and environment conservation," he said.

Maize traders at an open-air market. For agriculture to turn around, the country must use new ideas to avoid wallowing in poverty and perpetual hunger. [PHOTO: FILE]

The situation, he added, is worsening with fluctuations in the climate, which has resulted in changes in rainfall and the ecosystem, causing animals and plants to adapt or perish.

Ruto said for Kenya not to be thrown deeper in poverty, hunger and unemployment, the country must look for other ways of producing food and appropriate technology.

He said rainwater harvesting and reclamation of land for food production are some of the options being considered by the Government as it seeks to secure the country from continuing to suffer serious food shortages. He noted that the economic importance of rainwater combined with irrigation technologies have not been properly utilized in the country, hence the need to accelerate their adoption in food security efforts.

New technology

"For agriculture to turn around we must use new ideas. Unless we are ready embrace new technology we will continue to live in the perpetual poverty," Ruto told FJ last week. The minister had launched: "Together for the Farmers" initiative — a partnership between Amiran Kenya and Equity Bank to support small-scale farmers.

The initiative would enable small-scale farmers access finance for modern agricultural inputs, including drip irrigation, greenhouses, seeds, fertilizers, chemicals and training to commercialize agriculture.

Ruto welcomed efforts, so far, taken in Kenya towards adopting biotechnology in agricultural production, describing the technology as one of the tools that would resolve the country’s agricultural constraints.

The statement by the minister coincided with a release of a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) saying an environment-led green revolution is key to future food security in Africa.

The report, ‘The Environmental Food Crisis’, was launched at the 17th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in New York last week.

The report calls for an urgent revolution in green technology to harvest rainwater and implementing more widespread intercropping systems that can sustain soils, nutrients, reduce pests and retain water.

Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director, cautioned that the economic models and management regimes of the 20th century are unlikely to serve humanity well on a planet of 6 billion, rising to over 9 billion by 2050.

"This is particularly true with respect to agriculture and especially valid in Africa," he said in the report.

Diversifying economies

Meanwhile, the UNEP Executive Director also underlined threats and opportunities to diversify economies as a result of climate change and via the emerging carbon markets and carbon funds.

Steiner said clean energy projects, such as wind, off-river hydro and solar power are beginning to take-off in Africa from albeit from a low base.

Steiner cited Kenya, where several hundred megawatts of Geothermal power are now being installed in the Rift Valley as representing development, poverty-reduction and alternative employment prospects for people.

On May 11, UNEP and the Global Environment Facility announced they were now working with farmers around Lake Victoria to begin assessing the precise amounts of carbon stored by various climate-friendly land management systems.

This may open up the prospect for farmers and agro-foresters to be paid for not only producing crops, but also farming carbon back into vegetation and soils.

 

 

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Kenya’s economy is on the road to recovery

Kenya’s economy is on a positive growth trajectory. That is the judgment from leading fund management firms, investment banks, economists and the World Bank. Although the estimated GDP growth of between 3-4 per cent is still below the country’s potential, when benchmarked against competing economies in East Africa, the economy is expected to make a strong recovery this year.

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