Posted on November, 23, 2018 at 10:05 am
By BRIAN OKINDA
Stakeholders in the seed sector have been prevailed upon to review their product portfolio with respect to seed varieties which produce more over a small unit area, and apply technologies that will increase productivity.
This, according to the Kenya Markets Trust (KMT) CEO Kamau Kuria, will ensure there is optimum agricultural productivity in the face of declining arable land as well as adverse climate conditions, and pests and diseases.
Mr Kuria spoke during the annual Seed Trade Association of Kenya (STAK) Congress, Expo and Mazao Forum, which focused on facilitating business in quality seed through technological innovations and an enabling environment.
“As urbanisation and population grow, land available for agriculture and seed production is reducing. Currently, the country only has about 11 percent of its land as arable. This necessitates for seed varieties that are robust enough to produce more yields within a small area,” said Mr Kuria.
He stressed that the seed sector should also consider investing more in crops such as pulses, legumes, potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, arrowroots, bananas, and other vegetatively propagated crops, to boost the country’s food security agenda.
In the same breadth, the seed sector players censured the taxes imposed on farming input saying these levies will adversely affect smallholder farmers’ agricultural productivity.
These, according to the stakeholders, will force the smallholder farmer to forego using quality ideal inputs and go for the inexpensively available ones particularly recycled seeds.
Kassim Owino, who is the chairman of STAK, whose member organisations control 90 percent of the formal seed sector in the country, pointed out that the adverse effects of the VAT imposed on pesticides, fuel and certain farming inputs such as seeds, eventually trickle down to the farmers, rising their production costs and expenses, and hence diminishing their earnings.
“The taxes have increased the cost of seed production in the country by up to 40 percent, and this squashes the profitability of the farmers as they now also have to pay more for the inputs, which is disheartening,” said Mr Owino.
Mr Kuria however stated that KMT as well as other stakeholders, are deliberating with the responsible governmental authorities to address the taxes issue and hopefully, an agreeable solution will be reached, for the benefit of the smallholder farmer, as well as the government itself.
Source: Daily Nation