By Jane Karuku

Kenya’s agricultural system is amongst the most developed in Africa. Directly or indirectly – agriculture accounts for about half of all economic activity.

Felix Kosgei, Kenya’s newly appointed Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, has already shared some ambitious plans for the country’s agriculture sector, including ensuring that farmers’ produce is justly valued and establishing a fertiliser factory.
As the country’s new political leadership takes charge, they will be faced by a range of challenges. Limited use of improved seed, poor soil fertility, inadequate storage facilities, inefficient markets, and persistent under-investment in rural infrastructure place a heavy burden on our agriculture and condemns millions of our fellow citizens to living in poverty.  

Many will ask if the country can afford to increase its agricultural investments. A better question is whether we can afford not to. As our evidence shows, every dollar invested in agriculture in Africa has an impact on poverty reduction which is up to three to four times greater than the same amount invested in other sectors.

To its credit, over the past five years, the Government of Kenya has strengthened its support of agriculture, both in word and deed. Although the share of the budget for agriculture has grown substantially, it needs to grow even more and it needs to do so more rapidly.

Review agriculture policies

Where to begin? We should start with a comprehensive and independent review of the country’s agricultural policies. Kenya needs practical policies that serve the real needs of farmers, both small and large.

The Government should facilitate the establishment of a vibrant, competitive, and privately owned seed industry. It also needs to remove itself from the fertiliser business and encourage the private sector to streamline and expand its operations in that sphere. Similarly, it should encourage the development of more efficient and accessible input and output markets, and improve rural infrastructure.

The Government faces some complex, sizeable challenges, but it can also secure some quick wins. It should begin by increasing budgetary support for public crop breeding programmes, to carry on the good work of plant breeders at the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute.

Experience has shown that better crop varieties provide one of the best mechanisms for increasing rural prosperity.

The Government should also support human resource development for research and extension services, especially in the fields of soil fertility, agronomy, and water management.  

Over the long-term Kenya will be best served by grounding its agriculture in science and having trained technical experts working in the field.

Finally, Kenya’s leaders should expand investments in rural access roads, establish improved market centres and create incentives for the private sector to invest in produce warehouses and cold stores. Levies on the movement of agricultural produce should be removed immediately, as they disincentivise producers and food suppliers.

Role of AGRA

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is working closely with Government officials to improve Kenyan agriculture and we hope to increase our support moving forward.

For example, we are currently helping to organise a special fund that will, over time, leverage at least Ksh 37 billion from commercial banks and improve access to more affordable credit for as many as 1.5 million smallholder farmers and more than 10,000 agribusinesses.

In addition, we are helping the International Fund for Agricultural Development provide an additional Ksh 750 million in risk-sharing funds. This investment is expected to encourage additional financing by Kenyan banks and microfinance institutions, and will leverage some Ksh 7.5 billion in new credit for smallholder farmers.

While AGRA has an Africa-wide agenda aimed at bringing about a sustainable Green Revolution across the continent, Kenya is special. It is our host country – our home – and we have an enduring interest in seeing that Kenyan agriculture achieves its potential and becomes a showcase for agricultural transformation.

In support of that goal, we have so far made more than 50 grants in Kenya valued at over Ksh 3 billion. These investments include strengthening the country’s seed industry and the development and dissemination of improved varieties for such food staples as maize, cassava, sorghum, beans and pigeon pea.

We also invest in organisations working to bolster the country’s agrodealer network, and we strive to achieve practical goals that strengthen small- to medium-sized agribusinesses. Our investments in building a stronger network of agrodealers in western Kenya, for example, has reduced the average distance smallholder farmers must travel to obtain commercial seeds, fertiliser and other inputs from 17 km to just four.  

All of our work in Kenya is carried out in collaboration with public and private sector organisations – the Government, agribusinesses, civil society, NGOs – that share our vision of catalysing a uniquely African Green Revolution. We believe that collectively we can – and that we must – continue to transform Kenya’s agricultural system into a more productive, profitable and commercially viable sector, one that will fully realise its great potential.

Evidence shows that, if you want to reduce poverty, improve food security and protect natural resources, there’s no better place to start than with agriculture. We couldn’t agree more.

Jane Karuku, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)