Kindiki: Agriculture sector holds key to Kenya’s future and prosperity

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has said that the agriculture sector holds the key to the country’s future, security and prosperity.

Speaking during a meeting with senior state officials spearheading the revitalisation of key value chains at his Official Residence in Karen, Kindiki said they hold the means to improving incomes for homes and improving the lives of Kenyans.

He went on to state that the value chains are also the key to Kenya’s industrialisation.

“All value chains in agriculture hold the key to the future of our country. Those value chains in agriculture hold the key to impacting on household incomes of so many people. They hold the key to our quest to move towards manufacturing and industrialization,” the Deputy President said.

During the meeting, he also received an update on progress on the transformation of key value chains in agriculture, including tea, coffee, rice, sugar, dairy, horticulture, nuts, cotton and edible oils, for food security and economic empowerment.

Kindiki noted that through a series of deliberate and strategic interventions in the agricultural sector, the government is already finding solutions to the biggest challenges the country faces today.

“We are resolving the challenges of food insecurity, unemployment, and economic stagnation.”

He added that interventions made by the Kenya Kwanza Administration over the past two years have yielded tremendous progress, especially in the coffee, tea, sugarcane, and maize value chains.

The DP said revitalization of the wheat, rice, nuts and edible oils value chains is in progress and the government is actively engaging with stakeholders to resolve a series of challenges hampering the sectors from realizing their full potential for economic transformation of our Country.

In the rice sector, the Kenya Kwanza Administration is making the necessary interventions to increase production and bridge the annual deficit of 800,000 metric tonnes of rice.

“We must ensure as we committed, that the country is self-sufficient in its rice product as a food security and economic empowerment initiative. Rice is the third most important staple food in our country after maize and wheat. It is possible in a very short period of time for us to produce rice and create more value for our farmers, expand the acreage under rice production and seal the deficit.”

Kindiki further noted that there are ongoing work in other sectors, including the coffee and sugar sectors.

He said that deliberate intervention has shown that Kenya can be self-sufficient and have surplus sugar for export.

“We have done some commendable work around sugar, but still work in progress. We did an experiment with Mumias, we are now replicating with Nzoia, Chemelil, Muhoroni and Sony and Miwani.

“Coffee is beginning to pick up. We have tried to say that this coffee thing is gold for Kenya. It’s part of the agricultural real sector factors. If you want to know how important coffee is, look at the value, in the world trade value is only second to coffee.”