Columnists

LETTERS: Private sector key in driving agricultural transformation

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Food security is one of the government’s key plan. file photo | nmg

The private sector can build and drive a strong agricultural ecosystem in Kenya that will boost inclusive growth and transform the industry.

Agriculture has high potential for employment generation, food security and poverty reduction. Unfortunately, this potential has remained sub-optimal notwithstanding the numerous programmes/policies of the past governments.

Agriculture remains the most powerful catalyst in plans to meet the food needs of the expected 65 million Kenyans by 2025, and absorb millions of young people into the workforce over the next decade.

Recently I attended the first private sector consultative meeting convened by the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss Kenya’s agricultural transformation agenda. From the discussions, key aspirations by the private sector, that the government should incorporate for the initiative to succeed, emerged.

For starters, the government should foster a new climate of engagement for the private sector to participate and invest. Individual county governments, which are responsible for agriculture, should also take the cue and open up for investment beyond investor conference, and ensure that business has an input in policy formulation.

County governments should also train farmers in mechanised farming and good agricultural practices as well as build infrastructure that makes access to market for smallholders easier. In this regard the government’s transformation agenda should treat smallholders as enterprises.

Every crop enterprise must be driven by sensible farmer gross margin and towards agro-industrialisation. If Kenya is the largest producer of a commodity in the world then it must also necessarily become the largest processor.

The rising imports of processed food products are indicative of a broader opportunity to support local processing.

For the public sector to facilitate agriculture to cross the bridge, policy stability and corruption that affects the distribution of seeds, fertilisers and marketing of key commodities must be addressed.

When issues of infrastructure and corruption are addressed, investors see a positive incentive to expand. Overcoming these perennial constraints can make agricultural transformation possible, and point the way for large-scale shifts in the sector.

As the government embarks on transformation agenda as part of the national government effort to revamp the agriculture sector to ensure food security, create jobs, diversify the economy and enhance foreign exchange earnings, wider consultations and engagements are required.

READ: Jubilee manifesto makes a raft of bold promises on food security

The government needs to be responsive to the greater desire by the private sector to invest. There are three sub-systems that need to be viable and efficient for this to happen. The knowledge/technology generating sub-system – knowledge generating sub-system includes research institutes, universities, colleges and training institutes.

Technology transfer sub-system involves public agricultural extension agencies and NGOs/private agencies. Utilisation/application sub-system consists of farmers and farmers’ association.

I see Individual county governments at the front-line to facilitate the workings of the three sub-systems and ensure farmers utilise/apply innovation generated by the knowledge/technology generating sub-system.

This hence points to a need to have an efficient agro-industrialisation ecosystem at the counties.

The question then is how prepared are counties to anchor these three sub-systems? In terms of human resource development, what capacities do the technology transfer sub-system have and what is lacking?

What capacities do they have with regards to training, acquisition of equipment, facilities and human resource needed for efficient delivery of their services?

Charles. K Muigai, MD, Enterprise Institute.