Farmers during a planting season.[Photo/the-star.co.ke]Food production is becoming an extremely expensive venture due to high costs of farming which gulp up to 70 percent of farmers’ earnings, a study by Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development reveals.
Agriculture value chain players say the food crisis in the country has escalated over the years due to declining yields, input costs, technology choices, poor response to fertilizers, growing population, soil infertility and effects of climate change.
Timothy Njagi, a senior research fellow at the institute, says the cost of production is driven by key components including land rent at 29 percent, hiring machinery (25 percent) and fertilizer (15 percent).
Due to high land rent, an area under maize cultivation decreased to 1.5 million acres from 1.8 million acres in 2016. Other costs are labor at 11 percent; working capital and seeds acquisition consume five percent each; transport and pesticides respectively gulp up three percent of farmers’ revenue.
Njagi said the high food costs in local markets are not only attributable to production costs but also low output. Currently, the cost of producing a 90kg bag of maize is at Sh2,150 for small-scale farmers and Sh1,800 for large-scale farmers.
Sufficient food production in the country is being curtailed by a high cost of production as farmers are not able to control the cost of chemicals, seeds, and fertilizer. Production costs in comparison to total revenue earned from an acre stand at between 70 and 90 percent for large-scale and small-scale farmers respectively.
On average farmers apply 56 kg per acre (about one bag) against the recommended rate of 100kg basal fertilizer plus 100 kg top dressing.
“County governments also need to increase attention towards agriculture, for example, by employing more extension officers; increasing farm inputs application; introducing hybrid seeds and reducing land rates.”