It’s more than two months since the new administration took the mantle, The big headache it has is how to fund the promises it made to the electorate.
In addition to fiscal and monetary policies, which usually seem the easiest approach, it could find focusing on improving the agri-food supply chain more rewarding, especially after the devastating effects of the Covid -19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
Due to the increased technology in food production globally, there is a need for value addition to our agricultural products so as to make them competitive internationally.
We need to improve the quality of transport and trade-related infrastructure, especially the feeder roads in the interior parts of our country to enable market reach for agricultural produce.
Compared to the progress in developing economies, sub-Saharan Africa lags behind.
In Africa, crop yields are low and stagnating, due to the low use of irrigation, complex agroecological environment, high input costs, and limited market, extension, and financial services.
A few farmers participate in the export of perishable products, such as horticulture, or in domestic high-quality markets, such as dairy.
The diversification, differentiation and improvement of our agriculture are critical for the growth of our economy and to close the ever-increasing poverty index.
To give meaning to our products, we must be able to access new markets for inputs and products to increase our balance of payments.
The agriculture docket must focus on increasing the production and export of agricultural products as an effective way of reducing poverty and improving living standards, especially for rural counties.
Secure tenure and access to land are crucial for sustaining the livelihood of the majority of the smallholders.
It is therefore imperative that regulatory frameworks be put in place, enforced and monitored at all levels to ensure that the legitimate tenure rights of smallholder farmers, in particular of women and vulnerable groups, are duly respected.
This calls for a coherent set of policies, investments and legislation from production to consumption aimed at realising efficiency gains and cutting food losses and waste along the supply chain.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
