The national government is increasing financial allocations towards achieving the 10 percent Maputo Declaration as a way of ensuring food security, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Felix Koskei has said.
Speaking on Friday when he officially opened the Nakuru 2014 ASK national show, Koskei said that the government has allocated the Ministry of Agriculture Sh37 billion in the 2014/2015 budget to boost food production.
“Funds will be directed towards various key flagship projects which include irrigation, inputs subsidy, fisheries management, development of disease free zones, marketing and value addition,” he said.
He added that the government has deliberately prioritised irrigation as a national agenda to move the country away from dependence on rain-fed agriculture. The CS observed that this will be achieved through expanding and rehabilitating existing irrigation schemes by targeting 54,320 acres in various counties in the current financial year.
He called upon farmers and all the stakeholders in agriculture value chains to shift from subsistence agricultural production and embrace farming as a business. Koskei said this will help develop a vibrant agro-based industry in the country to achieve food security and economic growth.
Koskei said that his ministry is implementing the three-term Vision 2030 flagship project of fertiliser cost reduction strategy. He added that in the financial year 2013/2014, the ministry achieved a remarkable saving of Sh1.4 billion in the cost of procuring and distributing 143,000 metric tonnes (MT) of assorted subsidised fertilisers.
“In the current financial 2014/15, a total of Sh2.5 billion has been set aside to purchase subsidised fertiliser and Sh500 million to promote certified seeds,” said Koskei.
In order to ensure that farmers have timely and reliable supply of fertilisers, Koskei said the government has put in place a long term sustainable strategy for establishing a fertiliser manufacturing plant in the country.