Kenya became the 7th country in the COMESA region to sign the African Union and NEPAD - Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Compact in Nairobi on 24 July 2010. At the same occasion, Kenya launched the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy 2010 - 2010, the new blueprint for Kenya's agricultural sector. More than 400 participants attended the ceremony.

In his address, the President of Kenya HE Mwai Kibaki noted that more than 80 per cent of the total population in Africa lives in the rural areas and is mainly dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. Agriculture remains the mainstay of most Africa economies contributing about 30 per cent to the GDP and providing 60 per cent of all employment. 'In spite of its importance, the agricultural sector remains largely underdeveloped in Africa' he added. 'Out of the 874 million hectares of arable land in Africa, for example, only 27 per cent is optimally utilized'.

He deplored the low use of farm inputs such as fertilizer, improved seed and mechanization, and poor use of irrigation resulting in the continent being a net importer of food and agricultural products. He outlined measures that African countries could take to revitalize agriculture in Africa.

'I am encouraged to note that the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme that we shall be signing today is a step in this direction and aims at the implementation of these measures,' President Kibaki said. 'The objective of this African programme is to support country-driven agricultural development strategies and programmes by establishing clear commitments to deliver on specific targets'.

The Agricultural Sector Development Strategy On the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy, President Kibaki said, 'I am glad to note that the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy has mainstreamed all the principles of the CAADP. The strategy's development process fulfils the specific steps for developing the agreement document, which is our final endorsement of the African programme. Through this endorsement, we are declaring the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme is now fully domesticated in Kenya, and the strategy is effectively the toll for implementing the continental framework.'

Also attending the singing of the CAADP Compact was Mr Sindiso Ngwenya, Secretary General of COMESA, and the Head of NEPAD Agriculture, Mr Sam Kanyarukiga. Participants included senior Government officials, representatives of sector ministries, agricultural experts, policymakers, representatives from farmer organizations, the private sector, development partners, non-governmental organizations, representatives of the African Union (AU) / New Partnership for Africa's Development, the East African Community (EAC), and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

Kenya eyes food security status

Kenya started its march towards food security Saturday after President Kibaki unveiled a new plan to oversee food production in the next decade.
The grand roadmap - Agricultural Sector Development Strategy, 2010-2020 will spearhead the fight against poverty and hunger as the country inches towards its dream of being a middle-income economy by 2030.

Speaking at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi Saturday, President Kibaki said the government was changing tack to have agriculture drive Kenya's economy to the ambitious annual growth of 10 per cent expected in the next two decades.
The President said the government will make changes to the current laws so that individual farmers feel encouraged to shift from subsistence crop production to market-oriented commercial production.

(We'll ensure) that farmers can access affordable credit even if it means changing our credit laws in favour of farming enterprises, he said.
The shift to commercial agriculture, he said, will ensure affordable provision of seeds, fertiliser and agro-chemicals to farmers. Also, agricultural institutions will be boosted for extension, research and innovations, agro-processing and marketing.

Rural infrastructure will also get a boost to ensure that farmers access markets, plus, they will also be cushioned from losses through  farm insurance schemes, the President said. (We'll be) transforming our farming enterprises from producers of primary raw material to producers of value added products ready for consumption, he added. The launch of the ten-year plan comes at a time when two out of every five Kenyans are exposed to the threat of going hungry. It also comes just four weeks after the high-powered launch of the East Africa Common Market, which is expected to open up the region for trade.

The growth of the agricultural sector is expected to hit the seven per cent mark by 2015 --the global deadline by which poverty and hunger should be eradicated.
At the launch, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta committed Kenya to a continental plan that will now force Treasury to allocate 10 per cent of the national Budget to Agriculture. Currently, the 10 ministries under the Agriculture Sector, the minister said, receive 8 per cent of the national Budget.

According to the President, Mr Kenyatta's signature to the plan - the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) - means that all the principles of the Maputo Declaration are now fully domesticated. Besides, Agriculture minister Sally Kosgei said the plan meant that farmers will now be helped in developing business plans for their specific ventures.

The European Union too has boosted this year's Budget with Sh15 billion towards improving agriculture in the country, said Mr Dennis Plas', a representative of the EU delegation in Nairobi. The commitment also opens Kenya up for many grants and loans from the World Bank, not only to improve infrastructure, but also to boost farming technologies and practices.

Mr Sindiso Ngwenya, the secretary general of the Common Market for Southern and Eastern Africa (Comesa), said there was already a fund from which member countries could draw money towards boosting specific projects concerned with food security. Others who attended the brief ceremony at the KICC were: Regional Development Authority minister Fred Gumo, Trade minister Amos Kimunya and Livestock Development assistant minister Aden Duale.

Ministers and Ambassadors sign Code of Conduct

Ministers representing different agricultural ministries and Ambassadors from countries that support Kenya's agricultural sector signed a Code of Conduct on April 28th 2009. The Code seeks to establish a framework of principle to guide the co-operation between the Government of Kenya and donors supporting the Agriculture Sector.

The Code is a commitment that spells out the collaborative framework that will guide the two parties in the implementation of the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS). The ASDS was developed by the Agricultural Sector Ministries and stakeholders coordinated by ASCU, in line with the Kenya Vision 2030 and NEPAD's Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Plan (CAADP). It will be implemented through close cooperation with Development Partners to meet the set targets and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Speaking on behalf of development partners, Ambassador Anna Brandt of Sweden, said that development partners had already operationalised various international declarations and commitments to improve aid effectiveness since the signing of the Kenya Joint Assistance Strategy (KJAS) in 2007.

While affirming the willingness of the donors to support the Agricultural Sector Coordination Unit (ASCU), the Ambassador, who is also the Chair of the Agricultural Donors Round Table Group, affirmed that development partners had already aligned aid to the agricultural strategy.

Kenya's Minister for Agriculture Hon William Ruto on behalf of the sector emphasised the importance of the agricultural sector in Kenya adding that the Government was committed to addressing the issues of food security by increasing resources through the creation of various instruments such Agriculture Development Fund.  He, however, emphasised that a lot more need to be done to improve the food situation through policy reforms and coordination in the implementation of the revised agricultural strategy.

Funding mechanism for developing agriculture and agri-business launched

The fund, Innovation Fund for Agriculture and Agri-business, was launched on 17th December 2008. It was designed by different agricultural ministries working through ASCU, in conjunction with stakeholders and other development partners.  A Memorandum of Understanding between Agricultural Sector Ministries and Micro Enterprise Support Programme Trust was signed to give the Trust the mandate as the Fund Managers.

Already, in support of the fund, SIDA, EU, DANIDA and GTZ have provided a grant to the Agriculture Sector Support Programme (ASSP) through ASCU to support the fund.

The fund is a grant to support innovative agricultural and agri-business initiatives to enhance the capacity of the private sectors in agriculture to play their role in agricultural development more effectively.

The fund is also expected to be an important component for encouraging creativity and innovation, both of which are important to the achievement of the SRA goal of competitiveness in the sector as well as support proof of concept piloting activities emanating from the work of ASCU.

Agriculture sector conference held

The second agricultural sector conference to review and take stock of sector since the launch of Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture (SRA) was held between 9th and 12th November 2008. The conference, organised by ASCU, brought together participants from the government, development partners, the private sector, farmers, fisher-folk and pastoralists.

Recommendations and suggestions made at the conference is part of the interventions contained in the Medium Term Implementation Plan of the Agricultural Sector Strategy (ASDS) 2009-2014.