State pledges Sh440b for farming as network formed

As the agricultural sector grapples with a series of challenges, from climate change to pests like locusts, the government last week announced Sh440 billion in funding and partnerships aimed at modernising the sector.

These announcements sum up the key outcomes of the National Agriculture Summit, a two-day consultative forum last week in Nairobi. The summit, convened by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa), brought together stakeholders from the different areas of the agriculture sector and focused on the creation of partnerships.

Although agriculture is already listed as one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda, government and private sector stakeholders attending the summit noted there was need to modernise and transform the sector.

Creation of partnerships

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Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya presented the Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy, a transformative 10-year plan that aims to revitalise the agricultural sector by 2029. 

The plan is hinged on the belief that Kenya can only address agricultural challenges and attain food security through the establishment of a vibrant, modern and commercial sector that is aligned to Kenya’s economic development.

Under this strategy, more than 2.4 million smallholder farmers across 40 regions, dealing in fishing, livestock and crop production will benefit from government-sponsored initiatives.

These farmers will access affordable inputs, a move the government hopes will boost Kenya’s food production. The programme also intends to help build the capacity of 1,000 small and medium enterprises that provide solutions to farmers through technological innovations.

Some 1.3 million households in arid and semi-arid regions engaging in farming, fishing and pastoralism for livelihood will also benefit hugely as the government intends to design community-driven strategies in alliance with the private sector.

Additionally, the government will collaborate with private sector players to offer extension services and subsidies, particularly to struggling smallholder farmers.

To boost the support available to farmers, the plan will also facilitate agricultural knowledge and skills development by training 3,000 youth-led and digitally-enabled government extension agents.

“The average age of our farmers is 59 years. There is need to have sector strategies by all partners that will make the sector profitable and attractive to the youth, particularly in the areas of value addition and technology-based agriculture,” states one of the key resolutions of the event.

Agricultural research

Along with this goal, the government also intends to boost investment in agricultural research.

Large-scale farmers, on the other hand, are set to benefit from improved infrastructure and the establishment of food processing hubs, which the government plans to set up to maximize on the production of outputs.

“We aim to establish six large-scale agro and food processing hubs across the country through public-private partnerships targeting both domestic and export markets,” reads the strategy.

The government estimates that the plan will cost Sh230 billion in agriculture-specific costs and Sh210 billion in supportive spending and infrastructure. However, the government intends to finance just 20 per cent of this cost while the rest is sourced through partnerships with the private sector and development partners.

To actualise these plans, the government intends to devolve the programme.

“The strategy has shifted the burden of action to the county governments, the private sector, industry players, entrepreneurs, development partners, and civil society, to help us in driving this agenda,” said CS Munya.

In that light, attendees agreed that it was necessary for the government to exit from involvement in certain areas of the agriculture sector, such as trading and processing.

“The private sector already plays the biggest role in agriculture. The government still remains in few areas, like the sugar industry. You never see private sector firms being bailed out, it is always the government firms. It tells you the government is not in the business of doing business. The government’s role is policy and regulation,” KEPSA Chief Executive Officer Carole Karuga stated.

CS Munya, however, assured the forum that the government wants to reform and modernise agricultural parastatals such as the Kenya Meat Commission and government-run sugar mills then sell them to the private sector as soon as possible. At the forum, the Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET) was also unveiled and a ten point roadmap read out dubbed the ‘Safari Park Declaration’. The forum’s grand strategy will be reviewed monthly.

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