Felix Koskei is the cabinet secretary for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. He spoke to Star Reporter Agatha Ngotho during the 28th FAO regional conference for Africa in Tunis, Tunisia. Here are excerpts
It has been 10 years since the Maputo Declaration, has Kenya achieved the target and if not, what plans are in place to meet the target?
Kenya has not yet met the 10 per cent target, we are at two to three percent but the government has been trying to consistently increase the budget.
In 2000 we were at Sh9-10 billion but now the budgetary allocation on the agriculture sector has moved up to Sh38 billion. We are seeking for grants to mitigate against the deficit and the government is making deliberate effort to increase on this but this can only happen if the economy grows.
We are encouraging the private sector to move in and invest more in agriculture. We are also looking at both institutional and legal policy reforms that will create an enabling environment for direct or indirect investments and allow for new innovations into the country.
FAO recently held the 28th session of the Regional Conference in Tunis under the theme, African Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development. How are young people in Kenya being involved in agriculture?
We are providing them with training and working with partners to introduce incubation centres for the youth. This is to provide them with an avenue to understand farming right from production and the whole value chain up to value addition. We are encouraging educational institutions to produce agriculture and make it part of their curriculum with the aim of introducing agriculture to the youth at an earlier level. The idea is to revamp agriculture training and have short courses available in the country.
(b) What are some of the plans to get them involved in terms of infrastructure, market access and financing?
Land tenure is a big challenge in Kenya and tends to disadvantage the youth hence not an attractive option. Land policy is also not friendly to the youth such that if one wants to secure a loan, the process is complicated. We are working on land reforms policy to simplify the process of using such a tool of production to get credit.
The government is also working on a legal framework on warehousing receipting systems to reduce post harvest loss in the country.
This will help farmers to store their produce in a modern housing until a time when the market price is suitable for them to sell. Commodity exchange is also a strategy that will be put into consideration to reduce middlemen and eventually completely do away with them in agricultural production. Farmers can instead take their produce to the warehouses and maximise on their returns.
2014 was declared the year for Family Farming by the United Nations and Year of Agriculture by the African Union. How is this being ensured in Kenya?
This encourages governments to mobilise resources towards growth and transformation in agriculture. Kenya is shifting from rain agriculture to irrigation and this is one way the government is keeping in line with the declarations.
(b) Are there any initiatives in place to ensure that farmers are included in these undertakings?
We are focusing on attracting and supporting the youth and women through a project called Youth in Agriculture. The government has also doubled its subsidies on fertilizer and certified seeds this year.
We are promoting traditional high value crops such as cassava, sweet potato, millet and sorghum to mitigate climate change problems as these crops are drought resistant.
Family farming is not a new concept in Kenya, but we are working towards transforming agriculture from subsistence to commercial farming, as well as promoting reduction of land division to practice farming as a family.
Give us an update of the Galana-Kulalu food security irrigation project launched early this year.
Let me begin by briefly explaining the project. The Galana-Kulalu food programme in Tana River and Kilifi counties is a flagship for Kenya to ensure there is enough food in the country. It will integrate various food and cash crops, and also cater for livestock, fresh produce and fisheries.
The five-year project will cost the government Sh250 billion and is anticipated to produce high yields of 35-50 (90kg) bags of maize on an acre per season.
If this happens, it will double the production of maize and Kenya will be able to have enough and even export maize.
500,000 acres will be set aside for maize and other rational crops such as beans and sorghum. 200,000 acres for sugarcane, 150,000 for beef, game animals and fisheries, 50,000 for horticulture, 50,000 for dairy animals and value added products and 50,000 acres for orchards and fruits. So far, about 10,000 acres have been cleared and will be used as model farms for all the anticipated production.
This is a partnership between the government and the private sector where the former will provide land and irrigation infrastructure up to the farm gate then investors will invest in farming, fisheries, livestock and crops of their choice. We will lease land to investors on which we expect them to deploy the latest technology in irrigation.
Currently the design is being finalised to cover water sources and accommodation of the irrigation technologies. Soil analysis has been finalised and also bush clearing of 7,000 acres out of the 10,000 acres to be used as model farms. By mid-April, the water intake design will have been completed and construction of the model farms will begin end of May.
The surrounding communities will have a lot to benefit from through the community support program in Tana River and Kilifi counties. We will take care of some of the communities concerns such as the Tana River corridor for watering the animals, the Malka religious historical site and the 250,000 acres of land to the community for their own use, which is being mapped out.
There will also be the construction of several water pans for the animals, a campaign to eradicate tsetse fly which has been a big problem in the area and improved cattle breeds. The President promised 50 Borana bulls and already 10 have been given to the community with the remaining 40 to be given by end April where there is a clear criteria on how to distribute them.
In Kilifi and Tana River County which are predominantly small-holder farming areas under irrigation scheme, we will donate greenhouses and dairy cows to the youth and women.
There is an African Solidarity Fund which was established two years ago and it is core for all African countries to contribute, when will Kenya join?
The African Solidarity Fund is a unique Africa-led fund designed to improve food security across the continent. This is an initiative by Africa for Africa and has so far accumulated
$50 million with countries like Angola, Gabon and Congo Brazzaville having contributed. The first six countries slated to benefit from the initiative include the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Niger and South Sudan with each receiving $2 million during the 28th FAO conference in Tunisia. The next slot of countries to benefit will be based on regional projects and countries are required to put a request through FAO for consideration.
The contributions will be used to bolster a wide range of projects to improve food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development. The projects will include policies and programmes to increase opportunities for youth employment, improve natural resource management and the quality of food production; increase the resilience of livelihoods in conflict-affected areas and rapidly increase the availability of nutritious food through programmes like cash transfers, school feeding and school gardens.
The trust fund, which is housed at FAO, was originally proposed in 2012 by President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo.
Kenya is not yet part of this fund but is planning to join as soon as the economy improves. We are also going to apply for a grant.
60 developing countries, according to FAO have already reached the target of MDG one on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, and also managed to maintain undernourishment levels to below five percent of the total population. Kenya is not among them, are there challenges hindering the achievement of this MDG and what are you doing to ensure its achieved by 2015?
The biggest challenge we are facing is funding and effects of climate change. Concreted efforts are being done such as improving breeding of animals, controlling livestock diseases, construction of water pans, establishing fodder banks to help during the drought season and encouraging communities on fish farming.
(b) Every year, there are reports about the hunger situation in Turkana County. Is there a long term plan to eliminate this?
Turkana is a dry-drought stricken county but has fertile soils and Lake Turkana has the potential of 2 million tonnes of fish. We want to utilise this potential and there are efforts to initiate irrigation system in the region with about 75,000 acres of land that can be irrigated for food.
The county is also good in livestock keeping but the challenge is cattle rustling. However, the government is planning to do branding and introduce electronic tracking systems to combat this problem.
We are also engaging with development partners to assist in treatment of fish from the lake which are infected with nematodes and hence cannot be exported. They can only be dried and this does not bring much income to the community. Money is being put forward to facilitate on this. We have also deployed patrol boats for security in the lake.
Kenya has been partnering with countries such as Netherlands and Germany to get certified potato seeds. Have you exploited all the potential from research institutions before going that direction?
The most limiting factor in potato seed multiplication is inadequate land. Potato breeding requires rotational land. We have acquired land in Nakuru for potato seed multiplication and we are in the process of rehabilitating a splitting laboratory in Molo. We are also looking at contracting farmers to be purely potato seed growers so that we can have certified potato seeds for our farmers.
Any advise to the youth in relation to agribusiness?
The youth want quick returns and something that is trendy and to them farming does not have either of that. Agriculture has been associated to old age and low returns. Access to credit to be able to venture into farming is also a challenge to the youth, not forgetting that farming is a risky business.
There is low uptake of technology both in farm equipment and cultivation as well as access to market. All these are limiting factors that discourage the youth. The government is keen on tackling these challenges and as I have mentioned earlier we are working on various programs to make agriculture attractive and economically sustainable.
Any other comment?
I am optimistic that with hard work and determination, Kenya can be a surplus producing country in five years time.