Posts classified under: Latest News

achieving 100 per cent food and nutrition security in Kenya requires optimal investment in transforming the country’s agriculture sector into a modern, vibrant and profitable national undertaking.

Of significance is the role of the small-scale farmer in the whole equation.

To transform farming in Kenya, we have to empower small-scale agricultural producers to generate sustainable income and livelihood from crops, livestock and fisheries. This means allocating resources to areas where maximum impact will be felt along the entire agriculture value chain. Priority should be given to projects that boost productivity and unlock value addition opportunities such as processing. The road map for transforming Kenya’s agriculture sector is clearly articulated in the Agriculture Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS 2019-2029), which offers a comprehensive view of how the country aims to transform and modernize the sector. This should be read together with the National Agriculture Investment Plan (NAIP) outlining how the strategy will be funded.

According to NAIP, the implementation of ASTGS will cost between Ksh 400-440 billion in the five years to 2024. Of this, Ksh 230 billion will be directly channeled through the ministry of agriculture. The rest will be allocated to other government agencies providing support infrastructure like roads and energy.

This is indeed a colossal amount of money,. Notably, the government plans to finance only 20 per cent of the estimated cost, with the balance sourced from the private sector. In fact, ASTGS emphasizes that public-private partnerships (PPPs) will be critical in delivering successful outcomes.

However, given risks like perennial drought, high cost of inputs and cheap imports plaguing the sector, will private investors play ball? What is in it for them? Where does the small-scale farmer come into the picture? And where will all this money be going?

The transformation strategy identifies six flagships four of which directly touch on improving small-scale farmer incomes and increasing agricultural output and value addition. The key to success is on-boarding the private sector as a driver of the value addition process which will in turn stimulate production by both small and large-scale farmers.

Available estimates show 75 per cent of the food produced in Kenya is consumed at the household level. This is a strong indicator of the potential for creating sustainable livelihoods for small-scale farmers who account for the bulk of the country’s crop, livestock and fisheries production.

Under Flagship 1, for instance, the government plans to boost the incomes of 1 million small-scale producers of crops, livestock and fisheries. This partly involves strengthening the agro-processing and value addition capacity of over 1,000 farmer-facing SMEs.

There are opportunities here for private sector. Of the Ksh 230 billion to be channeled directly through the ministry of agriculture, for instance, about half of it will go into putting up agro-processing hubs mostly factories, with private sector playing a leading role.

The proposed agro-processing hubs, to be established across the country, will open opportunities for small scale farmers to ramp up production to meet demand for produce by processors, thus earning more money. Small-scale farmers, if properly integrated into the value chain, are critical to the sustainability of Kenya’s agriculture sector, and changing the way we do farming in this country.

The ideal starting point is creating incentives for small-scale producers to expand production and partner with processors and other players in the value addition chain. From a private investor perspective, reliable supply of produce is vital to sustaining value addition activities such as processing.

Efficient support infrastructure such as roads (linking farms to factories and markets) and energy (powering processing, storage facilities) must also be in place.

The transformation and growth strategy also emphasizes capacity building through transfer of knowledge and skills, research and adoption of climate-smart farming. Again, opportunities for private sector players such as ICT firms in a data-driven agricultural environment are immense.

All these interventions if well executed will have a strong, positive bearing on small-scale farmers by increasing efficiency and returns. The government should however explore tax incentives for farmers, processors and input suppliers to make agriculture more attractive. Unfavorable trade terms that fuel the influx of cheap food imports into the domestic market should also be tackled.

In addition, considering the economic, fiscal and social impact of ASTGS, there is need for comprehensive stakeholder involvement at every level of the implementation process. Also, the ministry of agriculture needs to roll out an aggressive awareness campaign targeting all actors in the value chain

Written by: Kingori Chotto

Read original artcile

Low  levels of agriculture mechanization, which stands at a paltry 30 percent has contributed to food insecurity in the country.

The  Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Director General (DG), Dr. Eliud Kireger said  in  Kenya the level of agricultural mechanization was very low especially in small scale farming.

Speaking  at the KALRO headquarters on Monday, during a conference on the Baseline of Agricultural mechanization in Africa, Dr. Kireger  said that 80 percent of our farms are small and thus require unique and creative equipment to mechanize.

“When  we talk of mechanization people think of big tractors but most farmers in Kenya operate one acre and below where you cannot use a tractor and this calls for appropriate mechanization for these sizes of land,” he said.

The  DG  added that through a project called Korea-Africa Food and Agricultural Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI) they are working on a program on how to improve mechanization in Kenya by borrowing lessons from Korea, since their size of farms is more or less the same as in Kenya.

“We have 18 African countries participating in this event and we are lucky as Kenya since we have a policy on mechanization, which many countries don’t have and we are hoping to hinge on that policy to guide us on mechanization of our faming system,” he said.

He highlighted that the main impediment to mechanization in Kenya is the cost of the machinery, inappropriateness of the machines that we have, in that some are not serviceable due to lack of spare parts.

“Since the government removed the tax on some of the tractors we expect that farmers will be able to pick it up and import the machines that we use. Fabrication of the farm machines here in Kenya is very low and we believe some of these machines can be made locally at a cheaper cost,” said Dr. Kireger.

Dr. Kireger explained that the collaboration they have with Korea is on research and ways in which the country can be able to fabricate machines suited for the local small holder farmers.

“We are encouraging farmers and youths to form Saccos and buy the equipment through the various funding mechanisms that are available and they can be leasing the equipment to the farmers,” he advised.

On  his part, Agricultural Mechanization Research Institute (AMRI) Director, Dr. Noah Wawire said that in 2016 they established  the status of mechanization on nine value chains, in local small and large scale farmers and realized that  the levels were very low.

“The highest mechanization we found was in wheat which was at around 65 percent and coffee was the least mechanized at eight percent,” explained Dr. Wawire.

The Director highlighted that low levels of the mechanization means that there is a lot of demand on human labour which is very expensive and they are hoping to improve the level of mechanization from 30 percent to at least 40 percent in the short term.

“Maize  farming in Kenya is highly mechanized which we realized is not efficient and we need more research to see how we can improve the utilization of those machines,” he said.

At  the same time, the  Korean Institute of Agricultural Sciences Senior Researcher, Dr. Young Choi said that they are working closely with Kenya in rice breeding project, agricultural mechanization, post-harvest genetic resources and next year they will launch a new project, which will include pest control and seed dissemination.

Dr. Choi said that they are also focusing on capacity building and one young Kenyan scientist will be visiting Korea to conduct some research cooperation project which will last for six months.

The scientists opined that mechanization will help the country achieve one of the Big 4 agenda goals of food security.

By  Joseph  Ng’ang’a

Read orginal article

The rains have become erratic, new pests and diseases are emerging and there is an influx of food imports. Farmers are squeezed and in dire need of government action. What is your word to them?

I agree that our agriculture is ailing. About 98 per cent of our farming is smallholder and 2 per cent large-scale. However, the 98 per cent produce 70 per cent of our cereals while the 2 per cent produce 30 per cent. To transform our agriculture, we have to shift the smallholder farmers (below 20 acres) to high value crops (not maize) and make maize and other cereals large-scale crops as they were meant to be.

Usually, smallholder farmers are highly inefficient as they are largely not mechanised and are challenged by knowledge gaps. In our recently developed agriculture sector strategy of 2019-2029, we are proposing to come up with 50 new large-scale farms and also designing medium-scale farms (30 acres to 100 acres) to increase production and create more jobs. Eventually, we have to move the smallholder farmers away from farming into jobs as we industrialise. All societies that have developed have had to make this transition.

The government allocated agriculture Sh51.7 billion in the recently unveiled Sh3.02 trillion 2019/2020 budget. With this small amount, is the government really keen on implementing its radical proposals to lift the sector?

To realize the Big Four agriculture agenda, we have to implement the Agriculture Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS) in full. Of course this needs much more resources. The Sh51.7 billion is barely 1.6 per cent of the budget, way below the 10 per cent of public spending promised under the Malabo Declaration of 2014.

To fund the ASTGS, we need roughly Sh200 billion annually, much of it through private-public projects and development partners. But as a government, we also have to play our facilitative role, especially when it comes to supporting the smallholder enterprise. The good thing is that a shilling invested in agriculture will come back and even be multiplied because it is one of the productive sectors that create wealth and employment for the people.

The disconnect between research and extension is big. Does the government care about these two services anymore?

Agriculture extension barely exists. It is not financed very well and neither is research. Agriculture is a technical undertaking and it is knowledge-intensive. The Kenyan smallholder farmer struggles from the start as they do not have superior genetics (seed, animal or fish), they have poor soil management skills and struggle with timing, weather, pest and disease control and recently the erratic behaviour of the weather (climate change). Only 1 per cent of the agriculture budget goes to extension. About 12 to 20 per cent goes to agriculture research/knowledge, but not to the real work. Instead, it goes to paying salaries of Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) employees.

In the ASTGS, we are proposing programmes to train 3,000 extension workers to cover the country properly. The national government is working closely with the county governments using some of the donor-funded projects to address challenges in specific value chains. But we must invest more in research and extension if we are to transform the smallholder farmer. We are experimenting with digital tools to reach the farmer. Farmers can SMS the word “farm” to 40130 to see some of the solutions that the ministry has developed to reach them.

Our agriculture has been rain-fed for long but it is certain we have to shift from this trend due to climate change. Irrigation is the way to go but the technology remains expensive …

We have planned investments in new irrigation schemes, desilting of old colonial dams and intensifying household water pans to boost household irrigation. Apart from that, we also have support of World Bank and the African Development Bank to build resilience in arid and semi-arid communities. Water and soil conservation are key to sustainable agriculture and we are working with Kalro and other development partners to intensify conservation agriculture in the country.

The bulk of the food sold in the local market does not meet safety standards. Is the government eager to enhance the quality of food in the local market?

The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) is putting in place regulations to guarantee Kenyans safe food. We are also working with the Ministry of Health to put in place a consolidated robust food agency that will coordinate food safety issues. Currently, a number of agencies such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards, Department of Public Health, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services and the Department of Veterinary Services are responsible for different components of food safety. In the next 60 days, we will focus on realigning and sharpening our food safety system.

The government plans to operationalise the commodity exchange by January next year. What should farmers look forward to?

This is a very progressive step. It has taken over 10 years for the country to adopt the warehouse receipting system, which anchors the commodity exchange. Through this, we hope to improve access to finance and markets for farmers through the warehouse receipts.

Agricultural commodities like maize will in future be traded through the exchange, and prices of commodities will be much better.

There are many campaigns to attract more youths into agriculture, yet it remains an optional subject in schools. Do you think the ministry should push for  agriculture to be a compulsory subject to address the jobs crisis and boost food security in the long-term?

To be a farmer, you do not have to have studied agriculture. I think the reason the youth opt not to take agriculture in college is that there are few formal jobs in the sector since 98 per cent of our farmers are smallholders.

Despite the fact that agriculture is responsible for 33 per cent of the gross domestic product, there are only 350,000 formal jobs in the sector. Investment in medium and large-scale farms will increase demand for agriculture graduates. Further, in our ASTGS, our first pillar proposes creation of 1,000 farmer-related small enterprises such as agrovets, mechanisation services, off-takers and processors and most of the youthd can find their calling in some of these enterprises. The ministry is working to come up with the Kenya Agriculture Transformation Fund (KATF) to support the financing of small and medium-sized farms and also fund the other farmer-facing SMES. This will help to fill the funding gaps since agriculture attracts only 3 per cent of financing from banks as it is considered risky. The KATF is, therefore, key to unlocking financing for agriculture SMES. It is alarming that the average farmer is 60 years, while the average consumer is 17 years old. We will address the bottlenecks that hinder the youth from venturing into the agriculture sector, which include lack of access to land, finances, machinery and low level of knowledge.

Most farmers sell their produce raw, yet they can add value and make more money. Can the government help?

The ministry is in discussions with the African Development Bank to finance the design and setting up of agro-processing parks in six regions alongside the regional economic blocks. For agro-parks to emerge, they need a steady supply of enough quality raw materials. We are faced with a chicken and egg situation, because agro-parks need inputs and farmers need markets for their produce. Pillar three of the agriculture sector strategy gives elaborate proposals and identifies zones where the proposed agro-parks should be located and the mechanisms for setting them up. This is going to be a very exciting space in the coming years as we seek to support the manufacturing pillar of the Big Four agenda.

Land sizes are shrinking and real estate development is taking over agricultural land. Does this worry you?

Yes, it worries me. Land fragmentation is a danger to agriculture. Economies of scale are important. In some of the places where the land size has shrunk to less than quarter of an acre, we may as well refer to this as gardening and not farming.

We must rethink our land policies and spatial planning. The counties and the Lands ministry must secure agricultural land.

Only 10 per cent of Kenya is suitable for growing crops. Apart from land, other issues that are of concern are climate change, the state of our soils, overuse of pesticides (which is killing pollinators like bees) and general land and environmental degradation. Sustainability of the agriculture enterprise will depend on the society embracing solutions and technologies that are designed to mitigate some of the challenges.

Author: ANITA CHEPKOECH

https://mobile.nation.co.ke/business/seeds-of-gold/Our-Promise-to-Farmers-/3112330-5194502-723w2hz/index.html

Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula has lashed out at the government, accusing it of frustrating farmers’ access to subsidised fertilizer.

Wetang’ula said the state had put in place strict measures, including demanding for title deeds at cereal boards, before farmers can get the fertilizer. The senator said the move further delay the planting season with the government having already delayed the provision of farm inputs.

He said many farmers do not have title deeds.

“How many farmers have title deeds when the Ministry of Lands is still grappling with headaches of millions of unprocessed titles everywhere. It is not possible t meet that demand,” Wetang’ula said.

He was addressing reporters on Friday at his Kanduyi home. He was with Bungoma Deputy Governor Charles Ngome, Bungoma Knut secretary general Ken Nganga and Ford Kenya youth leader Wafula Wakoli.

The Ford Kenya leader said it was strange that farmers were being asked to show documents for parcels they had leased.

“How many farmers in the villages go to lawyers to sign lease agreements? If I have good neighbours whom I want to assist, then I don’t lease land to them. I simply tell them; you plant here to feed your family without the lease agreement,” Wetang’ula said.

The senator said the demands at the National Produce and Cereals Board were out of order and only meant to frustrate farmers.

“There is an old man with more than 20 acres which he has subdivided to his sons to cultivate. They don’t have title deeds. How will they be sorted?” He said it was time the governor reconsidered its policies or the country could be turned into a “supermarket economy that receives foodstuff from all over the world.”

“Very soon, we are going to have tomatoes coming from a desert somewhere in Israel. We might have maize coming from countries that are known not to produce maize at the expense of our local farmers,” Wetang’ula said.

He said President Uhuru Kenyatta ought to be serious in the manner farmers are handled for the food security agenda of the Big Four to succeed.

He urged Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri to allow all farmers access to subsidized fertilizer so they can plant in time. “I don’t think there is a crazy farmer who can buy fertilizer to keep it in his bedroom. The fertilizer has an expiry date which means it must be used immediately,” he said.

He said it was unfortunate the government was frustrating farmers; key stakeholders in the actualization of food security.

“It is the planting season and we know our farmers are toiling on their farms to feed this nation.”Meanwhile, the former Senate Minority leader criticised the government’s plan to extend the SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu. Those of us from towns that lie along the old railway line from Mombasa to Kampala via Naivasha, Nakuru, Eldoret, Turbo, Webuye, Bungoma, Miyanga and Malaba are dissatisfied,” he said.

Edited by P. Obuya