Kenya: Govt in measures to enhance food security

12 August 2007, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
URL: http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=51145

Nairobi:  The government has put in place several measures to ensure food security in the country, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has said.  Mr. Musyoka said some of the steps include the empowerment of all stakeholders in the sector as well as the reviewing of the policies and legal frameworks with a view to making agriculture an economic activity that could attract private investments and create employment for the youth.

Speaking when he officially opened this year's Nakuru ASK show Mr. Musyoka said there was need to add value to agriculture as the country strived to transform itself into a middle income economy in line with the provisions of Vision 2030.

This year's Nakuru ASK show's theme is "Empowering People through Growth in Agro-Business"

Mr. Musyoka who toured some of the winning stands also presented the patron's awards to the long serving members of the society.  Some of the stands he toured included that of the ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Ports Authority, Egerton University, and Kenya Power and Lighting among others.

He said the government was aware of the many challenges facing the agricultural sector, particularly the high cost of inputs, unfavorable weather conditions, poor infrastructure and the effects of the post-poll skirmishes and assured them the government would address them and safeguard farmers from their effects.

"For instance, the Ministry of Agriculture has assisted the farming community by supplying farm inputs and provision of tractors for land preparation. In addition the ministry is facilitating procurement of fertilizer which will be availed to farmers at affordable rates'' Mr. Musyoka said.

The Vice President said the government was revamping the Agricultural Finance Corporation to enable it provide loans to farmers at low interest rates, noting that already the institution had advanced Kshs. 150 Million to farmers in Rift Valley province.

Saying the province had great potential for agriculture and livestock farming, Mr. Musyoka appealed to the residents to improve production and diversify their activities for maximum benefits.

He particularly urged them to venture into dairy goats, bee keeping poultry and fish farming. 

Mr. Musyoka noted that last year, the province earned over Kshs. 10 billion from the sale of agricultural and livestock products.

On environmental conservation, the Vice President urged farmers to practise agro-forestry to enable them satisfy their tree products requirements from their farms and thus reduce dependency on natural forests.

At the same time, Mr. Musyoka reassured the farmers that the government is committed to the improvement of infrastructure that impedes agricultural development through delayed delivery of inputs and transportation of farm produce to the markets especially the perishable commodities.

He said that the government with assistance from the African Development Bank and the German Government is undertaking rural road repairs and maintenance in 10 districts of the province at a cost of over Kshs 565 million annually for the next four years.

"Being labor intensive, this project under the Roads 2000 Projects is expected to create thousands of jobs for the communities in the rural areas", Mr. Musyoka observed.

Agriculture minister William Ruto assured farmers that the government will continue to initiate measures aimed at bringing production cost down, and appealed to the private sector to assist in the endeavour. He stressed the need for farmers to practically apply research findings to their work in order to improve productivity and keep abreast with modern technologies.

The minister announced that the ministry has set aside Kshs. 70 million for assisting the ASK rehabilitate all the showground which had hosted IDPs.

Mr. Ruto said his ministry will propose the setting up of an Agricultural Finance Fund where 4.5% of the national budget would go towards developing agriculture in the country.