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State plans key forum to save cash-strapped agriculture sector

A file picture of Paul Rono, the principal secretary of the State Department of Agriculture. (Photo: X/ Paul Rono)

By Lucy Mumbi | Monday, February 19, 2024

The March 27-28 forum will rally financial institutions, agribusiness stakeholders and the government to review funding options and investment to position Kenya for resilient agricultural enterprises.

The agriculture sector is grappling with insufficient funds yet it is the primary source of livelihood for millions of Kenyans, the Council of Governors (CoG) has said, as the state plans a forum to address key challenges.

CoG Chief Executive Officer Mary Mwiti noted on Monday that agriculture is the backbone of Kenya's prosperity, hence the need for collaboration to ensure the sector is successful.

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“Counties are pivotal to collaboration and the unpacking of solutions to establish credit and financing policies to empower farmers,” Mwiti said.

To address the looming severe food insecurity and help reduce food inflation, the government is planning a forum themed ‘Financing Agriculture Sustainably Conference (FINAS2024)’, from March 27-28.

Organised in collaboration with Rootooba Ltd, a food crops research centre, the forum will also rally financial institutions, agribusiness stakeholders and the government to review funding options and investment to position Kenya for resilient agricultural enterprises.

Paul Rono, the principal secretary of the State Department of Agriculture, said the forum will address national challenges including funding.

“We need to see how to invest and transform Kenya’s large and fertile land into a thriving agricultural ecosystem, running efficiently and profitably, to benefit not only farmers but also our economy as a whole. This conference will be the right place to do just that,” Rono said.

Conference Director Kawira Mutegi said the meeting will discuss appropriate funding models for the sector.

“The landscape conversations will bring out challenges that will inform subsequent discussions with financing solution providers and beneficiaries. The discussions will include designing financing solutions to ensure relevance to the wide range of beneficiaries, and de-risking approaches for injecting capital such as blended financing,” Mutegi said.

Partners for the conference include GIZ, FSD-Kenya, African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP), FSD-K, AGRA, National Research Fund (NRF) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Others are Tegemeo Institute, Association of Fintechs in Kenya (AFIK), Association of Microfinance Institutions of Kenya (AMFI), the Fertilizer Association of Kenya (FAK), Apollo Agriculture, the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (KUSCO), and SNBX Capital,