Kenya credits $24.6MN injection for agriculture success

By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Kenya on Monday announced that its investments in agriculture – especially maize production – has seen output rise.

Speaking in Nairobi, Agriculture Minister Willy Bett said: “Maize production has grown from about 35 million bags to 42 million bags annually, and the cost of production [has] fallen by 40 percent, from KSh 2,800 (roughly $28) to KSh 1,800(roughly $18) per bag.”

Bett linked the improvement in the agricultural sector to the efforts by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government to provide cheap fertilizer to farmers by injecting $24.6 million into a subsidy program.

“Kenya is now food secure and we are working on making the country self-sufficient in food,” Betts said adding that the government was making agriculture “cool” for youths by modernizing the sector, introducing gadgets such as smartphones to help in farming.

Kenya’s economy mostly depends on agricultural exports of tea, coffee, vegetables, flowers and fruits to countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and other African states.