Boost to smallholders, food security

Fillister Kerubo a tomato farmer in Bogiakumu village Bonchari Sub-County Kisii County, at her farm on July 27, 2016. PHOTO | BENSON MOMANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • AgriFI-Kenya will introduce a component of financial blending, which is a mechanism that combines grants with other innovative financial instruments for the development sector.
  • Small-scale producers make 80 per cent of the people working in agriculture, nearly half of whom live below the poverty line.
  • From a gender perspective, more than 70 per cent of our agriculture labour force is made up of women.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation welcomes plans by the European Union (EU) to support a new programme that will transform smallholder producers into meaningful actors in the formal agriculture value chain.

This is in line with the ministry’s forthcoming strategy on Agriculture Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS).

We are also happy that AgriFI-Kenya aligns with the national development blueprint, Vision 2030, while supporting other policy instruments that include the Ending Drought Emergencies and the Common Programming Framework to Improve Resilience to Drought in Arid and Semi-arid Lands.

The programme marks a shift in the way smallholder farmers have been practising farming and promises to redefine their role in helping the country to achieve food and nutrition security.

The new initiative is known as Support to Productive, Adapted and Market Integrated Smallholder Agriculture (AgriFI-Kenya).

CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE

Through AgriFI-Kenya, the EU will set up the Kilimo Value Chain Challenge Fund to support a projected 100,000 farmers to practise environmentally sustainable and climate-smart agriculture as a business within inclusive value chains.

It is our understanding that AgriFI-Kenya will introduce a component of financial blending, which is a mechanism that combines grants with other innovative financial instruments for the development sector.

In this way, the EU will be leveraging private sector capital to multiply the impact of its development assistance.

The new programme, therefore, marks a shift from the traditional financing model — where monetary resources to support small-scale agriculture would come from a single funder or government-affiliated source.

SMALL SCALE PRODUCERS

As a ministry, we particularly acknowledge the intention to involve small scale producers in all stages of whatever value chain they are in.

We are convinced that this will transform the farmer and build their individual capacities not only in production but also in post-harvest care, quality assurance and marketing.

In effect, this will transform the small-scale producer into the ultimate decision maker about what comes from the farm, livestock or even fisheries.

The proposed approach to the empowerment of the small-scale producer constitutes the best way of building the foundation for the food security pillar of the ‘Big Four’ agenda, which will be the focus of Kenya’s development in the course of the next five years.

I am encouraged to note that the AgriFI-Kenya Programme will be based on broad partnerships.

Among the agencies involved in its implementation are State corporations and government agencies for animal and plant health and food safety — including the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis), Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs).

POVERTY
A survey report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on micro and small enterprises a couple of years ago showed that a majority of our smallholder producers remain trapped in poverty due to lack of affordable financing and limited access to formal markets.

Besides financial services, maximising smallholder production requires them to have the means and capacity to adopt the best production practices possible. This means utilising high-quality inputs such as seeds and livestock breeds, getting well organised in order to aggregate their produce and maintain high-quality and sanitary standards in order to achieve maximum income.

Since Independence, Kenya’s financing models for small-scale producers in agriculture, livestock and fisheries have only partially succeeded in graduating them into the formal market.

Small-scale producers make 80 per cent of the people working in agriculture, nearly half of whom live below the poverty line. They are, therefore, unable to meet their household nutritional requirements.

FOOD PRODUCTION
From a gender perspective, more than 70 per cent of our agriculture labour force is made up of women, who contribute significant labour for food production and cash crop production.

The programme will, therefore, transform their lives for the better while enhancing the appeal of agriculture to the youth.
As a ministry, therefore, we will work closely with the AgriFI-Kenya programme, ready to play our facilitative role in supporting the engagement of the programme implementers with county governments.

Mr Kiunjuri is the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation.