State plans new strategies to revive agricultural sector

Kenya: A new dawn beckons in the agriculture sector as the Government rolls out ambitious strategies to drive growth this year.

Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet Secretary Felix Koskei has said the Government plans to enhance productivity in the sector by reducing production costs, increasing market linkages and improving access to e-Extension technology.

He added that farmers will get greater subsidies for seeds and fertiliser, with a Fertiliser Fund — which will start out at Sh3 billion and increase to Sh15 billion in three years’ time — to be created to support price reductions.

The ministry will also work towards expanding irrigation farming, enhancing the Commodity Fund, and introducing crop and livestock insurance policies.

“These programmes borrow heavily from the Jubilee Government’s manifesto that envisages investing in agricultural transformation and food security. This year, our target is to strengthen the country’s ability to achieve sustainable production,” Mr Koskei told The Standard on Sunday.

All-inclusive approach

The agriculture sector is reeling from high costs of production, erratic rains, a rapidly expanding population to feed, low commodity prices, competition from other sectors, unethical trade practices and poor management in the counties.

But Koskei was confident these bottlenecks would be addressed and growth attained as an all-inclusive approach will be employed in 2015 to fully exploit the sector’s potential and maximise farmers’ earnings.

The country earns an average Sh300 billion each year from the sale of agricultural produce.

The CS said despite the setbacks faced last year, the sector still realised growth, adding that this year’s key tactic would be to ensure farmers spend less to produce more.

This, he said, would be driven through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework and working with county governments to confront the challenges facing farmers.

“Last year we made progress by launching the first phase of the planned irrigation of one million acres by starting the process on 10,000 acres in Galana/Kulalu in Tana River County, as well as investing in existing schemes. This year, our focus is to ensure irrigation farming is expanded as part of our efforts to commercialise the sector,” Koskei said.

Kenya has an estimated irrigation potential of three million acres, but only 375,000 acres of these are currently being exploited.

 

Other notable achievements made in the sector last year include taming rogue exporters of harmful fresh produce to the European Union market, negotiating for a one-year extension on sugar safeguards and fully devolving agriculture functions to counties.

There was also the operationalisation of agriculture legislation, launch of the soil health report and tender award for the construction of a multi-billion-shilling fertiliser plant in Eldoret.

High-value crops

Agriculture Principal Secretary Sicily Kariuki added that the Government would also transform the strategic grain reserve into a strategic food reserve and include livestock products, feed and more grains.

“We want to achieve sustainable production and safeguard the country against the vagaries of famine, poverty and underdevelopment,” Ms Kariuki said.

“The new approach will also focus on food production diversification targeting traditional high-value crops, such as sorghum, sweet potatoes, millet, cassava and green grams.”

Last year, the Government also partnered with Brazil in a programme worth Sh10 billion to make 1,500 tractors and accompanying implements available to farmers at affordable prices.

Kariuki added that to strengthen extension services with a view to increasing the dissemination of information, 654 laptops, 654 smartphones and 654 modems were distributed to counties.

And ahead of the long rains season expected in March, farmers will buy planting fertiliser — DAP and NPK — at Sh1,800 from the current Sh2,000 “to ensure farmers’ margins are improved in order to increase production and productivity”, she said.