- The CS said the strategies will entail revamping the export crops while expanding emerging ones.
- He said agriculture contributes 65 per cent of the country’s total exports
Image: FILE
The government will target underperforming and collapsed export crops in the allocation of funds in the 2023/2024 Financial Year, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u has told MPs.
Ndungu, who had appeared before the Budget and Appropriations Committee, named the crops as coffee, cashew nuts, pyrethrum, avocado and macadamia nuts.
The committee had requested submissions on strategies to revamp exports to reduce reliance on foreign remittances and boost dwindling forex reserves.
The CS said the strategies will entail revamping the export crops while expanding emerging ones.
He said agriculture contributes 65 per cent of the country’s total exports.
“To improve productivity in the sector, the government has adopted a value chain approach that will address the bottlenecks that impede the growth of exports and enhance the country’s competitiveness,” he said.
He said the government’s strategy to revamp exports is outlined in the Budget Policy Statement 2023 and other policy documents.
“These documents outline agricultural transformation for inclusive growth as one of the five key thematic areas under the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda,” he said.
Ndung’u told the committee strategies towards revitalising agriculture not only spur export growth directly and indirectly through manufacturing but also offer a boost to food production and ease pressure on the cost of living.
“Further, the creative industry through value addition will improve our export areas such as fashion, leather products and craft industries,” he said.
The CS said the government will leverage the country’s position as a regional and continental leader on ICT matters to position Kenya as a hub of innovation.