Government urged to boost investment in organic farming for sustained production
Amudavi emphasised that Kenya is one of the top six African countries, out of the ten, that have expanded their land acreage dedicated to organic agriculture in recent years.
It is by no accident that more than two million Kenyans today face hunger and still lack access to an efficient food diet, according to an agricultural expert.
David Amudavi, the executive director of Biovision Africa Trust, says the country needs a focus shift in its production systems if it is to sustain the generations to come while maintaining lives and the environment.
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He spoke to The Eastleigh Voice on the sidelines of the second East African agroecology conference press launch on Tuesday, a summit that seeks to champion sustainable farming through organic farming.
In his sentiments, Amudavi emphasised that the country must shift its investment focus from conventional farming to organic practices, noting that the shift is essential for addressing the challenges of sustainable production in the face of a rapidly growing population
He pointed out that conventional farming methods have proven to be unsustainable over time, with the number of people facing hunger continuing to rise, despite increased investments in the system.
“For a long time, our farmers have been practising conventional agriculture. It has been predominant because of the belief to produce enough food for consumption and even for markets,” Amudavi said.
Soil health degradation
He however reckoned that over-reliance on the conventional model has over a long time been associated with soil health degradation, affecting farms’ ability to guarantee more return in terms of production.
“Research done by KALRO indicates that over 60 per cent of the farmers doing conventional farming have had their farm soils become acidic, denying farmers the ability to produce more food.”
Conventional farming refers to modern agricultural practices that use synthetic chemicals, advanced machinery and high-yield varieties, arguably to produce large quantities of food.
Amudavi reiterated that despite receiving increased investment each year from both the government and the private sector, the system has seen a decline in production over time.
To increase production in order to sustain the growing population while fighting hunger and poverty, a shift of investment towards striking a balance between the two systems is inevitable, he added in part.
Population growth
Kenya's population is projected to continue growing, with projections by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics suggesting the numbers will reach 57.8 million by 2030.
This is about an 18 per cent increase compared to the 48.8 million people recorded during the last census in 2020.
Amudavi further explained that he is not completely dismissing the use of chemicals in the value chain. However, he acknowledged that the country is not receiving the expected returns from its chemical industry.
“Their potential and ability to ensure that we can get more returns from chemical inputs has really gone down, and that is the question of soil health hence the need to invest more in organic farming by leaning more towards organic inputs and fertilisers,” he noted.
He called on the government to channel more support in terms of investment to the organic farming sector by boosting local production of local inputs such as fertilisers, a segment he said is dominated by small-scale industries.
This an industry that needs to be supported to ensure we have more of the organic fertilisers getting into circulation, reaching as many farmers as possible, he added in part.
“The government should also provide some subsidies for the organic inputs. That will be a big help so that we achieve this integration of both sub-sectors.”
As the segment continues to record growth globally, Amudavi said Africa has about 3.4 million hectares of land committed to the organic sector. Worldwide, this is about 2.8 per cent.
Kenya has about 173,000 hectares of land that have been converted into the organic sector, with about 63,000 farmers having been certified as organic producers.
Amudavi emphasised that Kenya is one of the top six African countries, out of the ten, that have expanded their land acreage dedicated to organic agriculture in recent years.
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