Posted on July, 5, 2016 at 10:25 am
Kenya will be hosting this year’s African Green Revolution Forum in a gathering expected to bring together 1,500 delegates, among them heads of state and government, farmer organisations, eminent leaders and academia.
The forum, whose theme is Seize the Moment, Africa Rising through Agricultural Transformation,’ is the largest agricultural conference in Africa and offers a platform for the advancement of policies and investment opportunities for participants while also facilitating the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“With this comes numerous opportunities for all stakeholders. This is, especially so for people seeking to interact with expert and influencers in the sector,” Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet Secretary Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett said during a stakeholders meeting ahead of the week-long event which starts on September 5 at UN Complex in Nairobi.
The forum will also give a platform to address challenges facing the sector across the continent. The event comes at a time when the government has set aside Sh1.1 billion to remove levies on tea as a way of boosting its production and another Sh4.9 billion to subside fertiliser and seeds, among other moves, to promote the sector as announced during the presentation of the 2016/2017 Budgetary by the Treasury.
Agriculture directly contributes 24 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 27 per cent of GDP indirectly. Approximately 45 per cent of government revenue is derived from agriculture and the sector contributes over 75 per cent of industrial raw materials and more than 50 per cent of the export earnings.
Agriculture is the largest employer in the economy, accounting for 60 per cent of the total employment. Over 80 per cent of the population, especially those living in rural areas, rely mainly on agriculture as their source of livelihood.
Source: MediaMax Network