Posted on June, 3, 2024 at 09:44 am
President William Ruto has vowed sustained efforts towards attaining food security through a digital database linking farmers and agriprenuers.
Ruto who led the 61st Madaraka Day celebrations in Bungoma on Saturday, said the Kenya Integrated Agriculture Information System with 6.4 million farmers already registered will enhance the coordination of agricultural production and streamline service delivery across the sector.
“To enhance our capacity to coordinate agricultural production and deliver services to the sector more efficiently, we are developing and integrating a farmers’ and agripreneurs database into the Kenya Integrated Agriculture Information System,” President Ruto stated.
“Our aim is to serve them better by improving access, sharing, and utilization of information in the agricultural sector.”
Ruto said the impact of the database is already evident adding farmers have been able to access subsidized fertilizer through the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme, along with animal feed and certified seeds, more easily and affordably.
“Since we began to distribute subsidized fertilizer last year, 15 million 50kg bags of crop- and soil-specific fertilizers have been distributed,” Ruto announced, underscoring the tangible benefits that farmers are experiencing.
He said strategic interventions by the government have also led to a notable increase in value addition initiatives.
The government’s efforts to boost coffee productivity from 2kg to 10kg per tree and increase annual production from 50,000 metric tons to 102,000 metric tons by 2027 are well underway, he said.
“Under the coffee sector reforms that we initiated, a KSh4 billion coffee cherry fund was established,” Ruto explained.
“Sh2 billion of this fund has already been paid out, with the remaining amount allocated for the 2024/2025 financial year. This will ensure farmers get good returns for their investments. Additionally, we are writing off Sh6.9 billion in debt owed by coffee cooperatives.”
Ruto also highlighted developments in the edible oils value chain citing efforts to boost the production of sunflower, palm oil, and canola.
In 2023, 70 tonnes of sunflower seeds were purchased, with 40 tonnes distributed to farmers, he noted.
Ruto said the government availed another 40 tonnes of seed to the Agricultural Development Corporation for seed multiplication.
Further, he said, the Agriculture and Food Authority has procured and distributed 500 metric tonnes of seeds, worth Sh241 million, to farmers in 24 counties.
Ruto noted a Sh414 million budget for the National Edible Oils Promotion Project under the 2024/2025 financial year.
In the cotton industry, the government aims to increase production from 2,500 bales in 2022 to 107,000 bales by 2025 and modernize ginneries.
“We plan to expand cotton farming from 9,300 acres in 2022 to 41,000 acres in 2023, distributing 15,700kg of seeds to farmers in Busia and another 20,000kg to farmers in Meru, Makueni, Kitui, and Machakos,” Ruto detailed.
President Ruto underscored the government’s commitment to provide subsidized fertilizer through the tried and tested e-voucher system.
He noted farmers had harvested 5,000 acres in Lamu, with the government negotiating a price increase from Sh54 a kilo to Sh72.
Ruto said the government was allocating Sh150 million for the Cotton Industry Revitalization in the 2024/2025 financial year.
Source: Capital FM