Posted on June, 14, 2019 at 08:51 am
By WINNIE KIMOTHO - Business Daily
Agriculture is the bulwark of Kenya’s economy, contributing 34.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 15.3 percent of jobs in the private sector.
As part of the Big Four Agenda, the government has aligned its policies under the agricultural sector towards increasing food production, boosting smallholder productivity and reducing the cost of food.
In tandem with the economic transformation agendas proposed by the government, it becomes apparent that any of the proposed tax measures ought to be favourable and integral to the agricultural sector. Some of the areas that the government needs to focus on include, but EW not limited to storage facilities, preservation and funding accessibility for farmers.
The issue of the purchase price of grains has been a sensitive one and a thorn in the flesh for farmers who cry of prices incommensurate to the investments made. Notably, whenever there is a bumper harvest, a lot of produce goes to waste or is sold at a throw away price to willing buyers or to the National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB).
The lack of grain storage facilities leaves the farmers in a precarious and desperate situation easily disposing their produce at any available price. In a bid to provide remedy to the storage facility issue, in 2017, the government exempted materials used in the construction of grain storage facilities from VAT.
Source: Standard Digital