UN wants rural farmers to double their yields by 2028 through a programme dubbed 'decade on family farming'. [Photo: akdn.org]Small-scale farmers in Kenya are expected to benefit from a new United Nations plan seeking to double production by 2028.Late last month, the UN announced a 'decade on family farming' next year to help small holder farmers across the world and mainly in developing countries. The programme ends in 2028.The declaration, which will be implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) could be key for Kenya where family-run farms are the basic food producers, states the Star.“And 2019 will mark the beginning of the UN Decade of Family Farming, drawing more attention to the people who produce more than 80 percent of the world’s food but whose own members, paradoxically, are often the most vulnerable to hunger,” FAO said in a statement on Sunday.FAO further said the Sustainable Development Goals have a strong focus on smallholder and family farmers, and target to double their incomes by 2030.“Policy attention and investments must focus not only on increasing yields and incomes, but also on a more complex set of objectives, including securing rights over natural resources such as land, water and seeds,” the statement added.In Kenya, farming accounts for 65 percent of export earnings, and provides employment for more than 80 percent of the population, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.The UN also set May 20 as the World Bee Day. Bees and other pollinators enable many plants reproduce.“I welcome the UN member countries’ endorsement of these key food and agriculture issues. This will raise the momentun towards achieving Zero Hunger by 2030,” said FAO director-general José Graziano da Silva.

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