Posted on March, 21, 2022 at 07:09 am
Adoption of agricultural technologies is still low, researches have said.
Experts have said this is despite a great diversity of available technologies, innovations and agricultural management practices.
Eliud Kireger, the director general, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Organisation said the adoption of TIMPs will enhance resilience in our agricultural enterprises.
“It is noted that adoption of new and available TIMPs is a function of science, economics and human behaviour,” he said.
Kireger said the nexus between the farmer, researcher, input suppliers, private sector, policy makers, extension service providers and markets, needs to be well understood.
He spoke last week during a meeting held in Nairobi on commercialisation of climate-relevant agricultural technologies and innovations.
The meeting as organised by Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa with participants coming from Eastern and Central Africa.
Enock Warinda, executive director, ASARECA said commercialisation of agricultural technologies is a challenge despite the numerous technologies that African scientists have been developed.
“The private sector need to make use of these technologies that seek to address cross border diseases, desert locusts, drought tolerance and early maturing crop varieties," he said.
Warinda said there is need to look at the missing link and see how we can bring in these technologies and introduce them to the private sector to help in commercialisation.
ASARECA is a non-profit inter-governmental organisation that brings together 13 countries.
The countries including Kenya, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Cameroon and Central African Republic.
The association was established in 1994 by member states represented by their national agricultural research institutes to address productivity, policy formulation and harmonisation of market and trade.
Kireger said in order to spur exchange and adoption of technologies, innovations and agricultural management practice within the ASARECA region, there is need for consistency and coherency in our policy frameworks.
“This may require ASARECA to facilitate continuous dialogues to look into setting clear goals for Climate Smart Agriculture’s, defining research and development priorities and targeting and implementing policy measures at the appropriate level,” he said.
Source: The Star