Kenya: 2pct of GDP to be used on agri research, fund to enhance food security

Kenya is pondering over to put in place an agriculture research fund in order to enhance food security.

Hamadi Boga, principal secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation said in Kenya's capital, Nairobi that despite the bulk of the workforce being employed in agriculture, Kenya is yet to achieve food self-sufficiency.

"The fund will help the country to prioritize investments in developing new innovations in agriculture that will boost productivity especially of smallholder farmers," Hamadi Boga opined.

According to Boga, all relevant stakeholders including the public and private sector as well as the local communities will be consulted before the fund is presented to the cabinet for approval. He further added that the fund will help Kenya to roll out high yielding seeds varieties that will enable the country's agriculture sector also tackle climate change.

The government official noted that both public and private research with innovative ideas will be funded from the agricultural research fund. According to the country's policy, Kenya needs to spend at least two percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on research.

Boga noted that agriculture research will help Kenya to rely on scientific evidence to guide farmers on how to improve their yields. He added that agricultural productivity on key staples such as maize has been declining despite increased use in fertilizer.

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