This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday outlined measures to boost agricultural productivity in Kenya, highlighting the sector's crucial role in the country's industrialization strategy.
Speaking at the official opening of the Mombasa International Show, the President underscored the importance of agriculture in driving the country's economic growth, saying it was key to achieving the Vision 2030 goal of becoming an industrialized middle-income country.
“In 2018, the agricultural sector was the largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of our nation, accounting for a direct contribution of 32 per cent of GDP and an additional 27 per cent of GDP, through linkages with manufacturing,” the President said.
The President's administration is implementing a 10-year comprehensive Agriculture Sector Transformation Growth Strategy, which aims to boost incomes from agriculture by modernizing the sector, increasing value addition, and promoting processing and retail.
As part of the reforms, the government is implementing legal and policy reforms to support youth and women in engaging in agriculture and agribusiness, with the President citing the Kenya Agriculture Insurance Programme (KAIP) and the Kenya Livestock Insurance (KLIP) as measures to mitigate against the effects of climate change and weather variability.
The government has allocated Shs 48.5 billion to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in the current financial year to boost food production, with the funds directed towards key flagship projects, including irrigation, input subsidy, strategic grain reserve, fisheries, livestock development, and technology transfer.
