A multi-sector forum has unveiled an ambitious agricultural sector reform plan aimed at improving food security in the country.
The Agriculture and Livestock Development Ministries, the Mining, Maritime, and Blue Economy Ministries, the Council of Governors, Development Partners, and the Agriculture Sector Network are all represented at the forum.
During a strategy meeting on Friday, the forum agreed to implement 17 key resolutions that will result in significant changes in the agricultural sector, thereby increasing food production in the country.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi assured stakeholders at the forum that his ministry will oversee the full implementation of the action plan.
“In January 2023, my ministry will convene a consultative forum to review the report of the technical team formed to review and harmonize the legal frameworks and align the reforms to the Constitution and the devolved system of government for effective reform implementation at the County level,” Linturi said.
Linturi has also urged county governments to increase their investment in agriculture.
Linturi, his Mining, Maritime, and Blue Economy counterpart Salim Mvurya, and the Council of Governors Chairperson Anne Waiguru all signed the joint resolution.
Among the new changes proposed to lift Kenya’s 2 million chronically poor food-insecure citizens out of food insecurity are investments in value addition for local consumption and export to generate income for farmers, as well as a shift from rain-fed to irrigation-agriculture.
This would be consistent with President William Ruto’s pledge to build 100 large irrigation dams.
Other key resolutions include the implementation of reforms in the sugar, tea, and coffee sectors, as well as the availability of subsidized fertilizer to farmers and the streamlining of the mining sector.
Others include increasing national and county government budget allocations to agriculture and livestock sectors, as well as prioritizing needed infrastructure to improve food security in the country.
