Kiambu to plan land use to achieve food security

The continued loss of  agricultural land to real estate  has prompted the Kiambu government to adopt spatial planning to ensure food security, the country’s chief land officer, Mr David Gatimu says.

The initiative is a collaboration between the county, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Dutch Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development in Africa (Dasuda), with the support of the Dutch Government. 

It has brought together experts to develop a spatial plan and  an investment model for developing agro-based industries. The county has already identified and zoned land where it hopes the processing, packaging and distribution of food can be concentrated, for piloting the project

The Dutch will provide technical assistance while  the county’s agricultural officials will lend their knowledge of  the local situation.

Known as the Regional Agro Industrial Networks (RAIN), the project  aims to facilitate long-term investments in agro-industries.  It also seeks to leverage economic development in the food value chain and  seek ways  of  enhancing  urban-rural  linkages and potential.  

A “greenport” for the   raw agricultural produce, with support facilities for the collection, storage, processing and distribution within the county and the wider Nairobi  has been created.

Before embarking on the project, the  county  conducted a study on the area’s growth.

“This enabled us to identify areas that could be used for the RAIN Project and to set boundaries to prevent the expansion of uncontrolled urban activities,” said Mr Gatimu.

NEW APPROACH

The county has also identified areas  suitable for urban agriculture and horticulture, high-value agriculture, livestock farming and small-scale farming.

The project is likely to enhance food security in the productive county, which supplies vegetables, milk, eggs, fruits and other  foods consumed locally and in Nairobi.

Documents seen by the DN2 indicate  that the county plans to encourage farmers to partner with firms involved in food  production and processing.

This is the first time a county is using spatial planning to ensure food security. Usually, spatial plans are usually prepared to guide physical developments in towns and other urban areas, with little concern for agriculture. 

The thinking in Kiambu is that providing land for agro-based industries will benefit more than just  the smallholder farmers. Many farmers have subdivided their land and either sold it to real estate developers or used it to invest in real estate themselves.  

“By raising the value of agricultural products, we will not only be giving land owners a reason to preserve their farmland, but also be creating employment,” says Mr Githinji.

On how the project will work he says: “Farmers will be expected to grow crops in greenhouses, rotate their crops depending on market fluctuations and ensure that they consistently produce high quality foods.”

In return, the county government will facilitate investment in bulk storage of the products, provision of training and knowledge, and  ensuring that the products are of high quality.

 To ensure consumer satisfaction, there will be facilities for specific processing on request,   no unpredictable price swings, and  continuous supply  relevant products. 

 Eventually, the county expects to benefit from the investments and an increase in employment opportunities.

“To achieve this, there is a need to have a well-planned area,” said Mr Gatimu, adding  that this also depends on how good the roads that connect the  production and processing areas with the market are.

 The initiative deviates from the standard practice, in which spatial planning merely caters for housing, roads, industrial growth, commerce and recreational developments in towns.

This has tended to ignore rural areas that are key to the production of foods needed in cities, with farmland generally being regarded as frontiers for urban expansion.

HOUSING GLUT

“The secret ensuring that agricultural activities remain as attractive as, or more lucrative than, housing or other forms of urban development,” says Mr Gatimu.

“The RAIN project focuses on how planning can influence… (and) facilitate the improvement of the food value chain,” he says, adding  that the county can expand agro-industries, especially those that rely on vegetables and fruits.

In addition, the county plans to capitalise on an improved road system, its proximity to Nairobi and its nearness to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to create an  agro-industrial hub.

Eventually, Kiambu might also find that it pays to remain a farming county. Indeed, some planning experts doubt that the expansive real estate developments in the county will remain lucrative long-term investments.

“We have to accept the possibility of a housing glut in Nairobi’s metropolitan area if the rate at which housing estates have been coming up is anything to go by,” notes Dr Isaac Mwangi, the head of the Urban and Regional Planning Department at the University of Nairobi.

Kiambu Deputy Governor Gerald  Githinji says greatest challenge is the fact that most land in the county is privately owned.

Still, he is  optismistic that the laws the county intends to enact to control land use, coupled  with intensive awareness creation  among land owners, will be effective.

“We will approve change of land use only if it is in line  with what has been planned.  We have also enhanced the participation of land owners through  clinics to make them understand why it is important to adhere to these plans,” Mr Githinji says.

In addition, most landowners have small, uneconomical parcels,  which have recorded steadily declining productivity in  the last decade. In addition, farmers have been earning little from their cash crops, leading to the neglect of, or abandonment, of coffee.

While new laws such as the County Government Act 2012 give county governments the responsibility of planning, coordinating developments, and enforcing planning within their jurisdictions, they lack they capacity to monitor and enforce them.