Economy

Irrigation tops Kenya policy review with FAO

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Agriculture PS Richard Lesiyampe. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Kenya has given priority to irrigation in a joint policy review with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the European Union targeting better earnings for farmers, jobs creation and increased food production.

Funded by the EU under the Food, Nutrition Security, Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and Transformation programme, it will “generate evidence on where money should be spent'' to transform smallholder agriculture, raise productivity as well as reduce the pain of climate change, said Mulat Demeke, a senior policy officer with FAO in Nairobi.

The assistance will ''build capacity of decision makers and ensure institutions function properly'', said Dr Demeke.

It will also look at value addition, Agriculture PS Richard Lesiyampe told a team from the two agencies in May, adding that the assistance was '' timely and valuable''.

The agencies are working with national and county governments, policy institutions like Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Organisation (Kalro), Agriculture Information Resource Centre, and university think-tanks, including Tegemeo Institute of Egerton University. It will run up to 2019.