The government has committed to increasing land under irrigation from the current 670,000 acres to 3 million acres to guarantee food security.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said the dream will be realised through the public-private partnerships venture.
“I, therefore, invite the private sector to partner with the government in ensuring we move the country from dependency on rain-fed agriculture and vulnerability to drought and the effects of climate change,” he said.
He said seasonal rains have been scarce, sporadic or never rained at all in some areas for about three years now.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary spoke at the launch of the Global Hunger Index Report, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
Mudavadi said the government will also reinstate the stalled milk coolers’ programme and distribution of 650 milk coolers across production areas in the country.
“Improved storage, preservation of milk and access to markets by dairy farmers. This will offset the cost of feeds and bolster local economic turnaround, job creation and reduce hunger,” he said.
He said the fight against hunger has the highest multiplier impact on the country’s Gross National Income through job creation and poverty reduction.
“I have deliberately picked on enhancing agricultural production as a way of fighting hunger because it is hanging fruit among the multiple approaches Government intends to apply to achieve equity,” he said.
Mudavadi said while agriculture accounts for approximately 33 per cent of Kenya’s economic output and 40 per cent of our overall workforce (mainly small-scale rural producers and forms about 65 per cent of Kenya’s total exports), hunger is most prevalent among the same agricultural communities.
“It is only logical that investments must be directed at beefing up the productivity of the agriculture sector,” he said.
Mudavadi said he is determined to provide an enabling environment for increased agricultural productivity.
“We intend to support farmers in accessing quality inputs such as seeds, fertiliser and pesticides, among others; and also access to extension services to increase agriculture productivity,” he said.
He said a conducive environment will be provided for smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and citizens, in general, to actively participate in the realisation of their right to food as enshrined in Article 43 of the Constitution.
