Page 8 - AIK Guide 2019-20 Edition
P. 8
Note from
The Publishers
On the backdrop of UN’s sustainable development goals 2030, in
which the primal resolve was the eradication of poverty and hunger,
H. E President Uhuru Kenyatta articulated the expansion of food
production and supply as part of the National Government big four
agenda for the interim five years. This initiative draws support from
the AGRA, FAO and AU endeavours in food security that has seen the
Government and sector stakeholders commit over USD 600million
in the next 10years.
The magnitude of this undertaking will require immense resources,
expertise and co-ordination across all arms of government both national and county, private sector and
international partners. Already, there are a number of Bills’ ranging from land use and leasing, soil liming,
warehouse receipt system, fisheries management and food security awaiting enactment to create the
legal framework for the Big Four agenda to thrive. Subsequently, the government plans to place an
additional 700,000 acres of land under maize, potato, rice, cotton, aquaculture and feed production
through PPP programme to enhance large scale food production.
However, current macro-economic upheavals are set to negatively impact gains in the sector in the
short-term. The 16% levy imposed on agricultural pest control products and 8% on petroleum products
in the 2018/19 budget will not only significantly increase the cost of production but will also render
Kenyan farm produce uncompetitive in the regional and global market. The knock-on effect of a 16%
VAT along the value-chain from inputs to final processing means the actual cost of taxes is in the region
of 56% to 60%. This situation is likely to increase dependency on food imports as well as increase
counterfeit pesticides in the market. Seldom do you find such an approach deployed in European or
Asian countries as a measure to bridge tax deficit.
Whereas there seems to be a mountain of challenges facing the industry, the bigger picture has a more
positive outlook. Government has allocated more resources to the agriculture docket with a focus on
promoting irrigation as opposed to depending on rain-fed agriculture, similarly it has allocated Ksh.
300M to crop insurance to stimulate the uptake of agriculture insurance as a risk mitigation measure
and a further Ksh 4.3B on fertilizer subsidy through an on-going farmer registration programme. These
commitments are a merit of measure, borne of consultative dialogue and a myriad of conferences with
stakeholders and industry experts.
Karibu.
Masara Kinara
Publisher
CREDITS
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