Harvested maize. ( Photo/agronewsng)The ministry of agriculture has condemned the negligence of the agricultural sector, a reason why food security is still a challenge. Evidently, a very small percentage of funds go to agriculture in most counties' budget.
Speaking to a conference on transforming agriculture for inclusive growth in Nairobi, the Cabinet secretary of Agriculture Will Bett said that rice, maize and wheat had performed poorly in production improvement despite of others like flowers and daily doing good.
“Although some sub-sectors within the agricultural sector such as horticulture, flowers, and dairy are dynamic and have expanded in the past 10 years, most others such as maize, wheat, and rice have performed poorly. Food security remains a challenge. This is the elephant in the room,” Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett told a conference in Nairobi.
Despite agriculture being a key driver of the economy, experts have it that the sector is never handled with seriousness, under-funding it being a basic downfall. The sector has the capability of creating more job opportunities in the country, reducing poverty and raising income levels. For instance, the agricultural sector contributed to 33 per cent gross product in 2016, depicting its significance to the economy.
Climate change, soil degradation and shrinking land sizes are as a result of under-funding. Being devolved under the new Constitution 2010, the sector remains under the control of the county which is responsible for regulating all its operations.
According to researchers, the counties concentrate on infrastructure; construction of roads and bridges, because they are publicly visible to gain the county officials political mileage. The use of fertilizers and appropriate technology is unlikely for those counties who invest lowly in agriculture.
The use of funds in the sector has brought about regional differences, with some counties more developed in the sector than others. For example, the central and eastern Kenya counties are more committed to agriculture than the western Kenya counties.
“The experience by farmers in central and eastern Kenya with the use of fertilisers and modern technology, and levels of income, and accessibility might be the reason for these regional differences” Mr Eric Njue, a researcher with Tegemeo institute said.
Counties are urged to fund the agriculture sector like other sectors to avoid the risky of food insecurity. The use of fertilizers and proper technology be employed as well, in order to trigger high production.