Unlock agribusiness through the declaration on soil and fertiliser

The head of Agri-business in BIDCO Africa Company John Kariuki chats with with farmers in Kikopey Gilgil on how they can start growing sunflowers in the region. [File, Standard]

Like millions of other Kenyans, my parents are smallholder farmers. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), there are 33 million smallholder farms across Africa, contributing up to 90 per cent of food production in sub-Saharan African countries.

Yet, smallholders account for nine out of ten people living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. The troubling statistics were at the forefront of my mind during the recently concluded Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit in Nairobi.