AGRA

September 5, 2019

Environmental degradation is a major global issue since the 1970s, when the international community became aware of the negative consequences of over-exploitation of land and related resources.

Worldwide, agriculture contributes 80 percent of land degradation through deforestation, loss of biodiversity, loss of soil fertility, soil leaching, land and water pollution, leading to desertification, floods, drought and erosion.

In Africa, almost 65 percent of cropland, which produces more than 70 percent of the food, has for half a century been affected by land degradation driven by poor farming practices.

It is against this backdrop that the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has entered into an MoU with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for the development of resilient agricultural systems that are based on sustainable environmental practices.

Michael Doane, the Managing Director for Food and Agriculture at TNC, says that the partnership will scale up sustainable land management and agro-biodiversity conservation in the continent, with the intention of supporting agricultural growth.

“We already know that the best way to increase agricultural productivity is to use good seed genetics and improved fertilisers. But soil health is coming up as new knowledge all over the world and it is upon us to ensure that we help manage the biological functions of soil for the benefit of African agriculture,” Mr. Doane said. 

AGRA President Dr. Agnes Kalibata recognized the expansion of farm lands as a major precursor of degradation.

“We are still seeing a lot of people moving to new land and this must stop because the land that currently under production is enough to feed a lot of people, except that it is not being optimised,” she said.

Following the MoU, a $964,000 budget was set aside to fund an Integrated Approach Pilot program (IAP) that fosters sustainability and resilience for food security in Africa.

The project will pursue investments in the integrated management of natural resources in smallholder agriculture to help farmers improve soil health, increase access to drought-tolerant seeds, maintain or increase diversity on their farms, and link them to functional markets.

Dr. Kalibata promised to support the training of farmers to pursue environmentally-conscious agricultural practices.

“We are happy to help in the perspective of intensification, encouraging farmers to plant trees on their land.”

Ultimately, Dr. Kalibata concluded, the failure to protect the environment will impact farmers the most, especially because agricultural enterprises in the continent depend heavily on natural resources like land and rain.

September 3, 2019

The private sector has a major role to play in the transformation of African agriculture. In particular, SMEs will be vital to the continent’s long-awaited green revolution.

But small-to-medium sized agribusinesses often lack the collateral, resources and support they need to realize their potential. As such, they make up what is referred to as the ‘hidden middle’; an overlooked cohort of essential but unrecognized workers and enterprises.

The ‘hidden middle’ is the focus of this year’s Africa Agriculture Status Report (AASR). Coordinated and published each year by AGRA, the AASR addresses the tough questions that accompany the challenge of delivering inclusive growth and enhancing government capacity. It serves as a handbook for governments and their supporting partners to deliver agricultural and economic transformation.

Launched at AGRF 2019, this year’s edition of the report was welcomed by Dr Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA and AGRF Secretariat, as an important study on a crucial segment of the private sector. Not the “missing” middle but the “hidden” middle – a crucial distinction made by Dr Kalibata as she described how African farmers and SMEs are ready, waiting and willing to expand into new areas. Through commitments and insights, the AASR 2019 signals a renewed effort to bring SMEs into the light and, through investment and support, help them become “vibrant and visible”.

“The SME landscape needs to work,” said Dr Kalibata as she warned that African agriculture, like an engine in idle mode, cannot presently go forward. With the threat of climate change, it could even start to go backwards – unless we act now to engage and empower the continent’s SME population.

Before presenting the key findings from AASR 2019, Dr Tom Reardon, Professor of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at MSU, set about busting a few popular myths.

According to Dr Reardon, conventional wisdom has it that the African food system is broken. “But the food system in Africa feeds 880 million consumers,” he said. “So, if indeed it is broken, we’re in big trouble.”

What’s more, the research that shaped the AASR 2019 contradicts this conventional wisdom. “Yes,” said Dr Reardon, “the African food system is constrained…but we’ve found a quiet revolution at the grassroots level in African supply chains.” That is, in the segments that are closest to the farmer, made up of agro-dealers, truckers, processors, wholesalers and street vendors, among others. And it’s here, in the hidden middle, that rapid advancements are being made, with huge potential for growth.

Dr Reardon then set out some of the key findings of the AASR 2019. First, the African food system is growing extremely quickly. “From 1970 until now,” he explained, “the total volume of food in Africa has grown by a factor of 350%.” This is on a par with Asia, which is widely perceived as the food system success story.

And over 25 years, there’s been an 800% increase in the volume of food being moved from rural areas to African cities. “Is that a broken value chain?” asked Dr Reardon.

The report also found a very rapid transformation of the nature of the food system. Two-and-a-half decades ago, the urban share of the food economy in Africa was very minor. Today, cities account for 60% of all food consumed in Africa, triggering the jump in urban-rural supply chains.

There has also been a shift away from a subsistence farm economy. “Today,” said Dr Reardon, “80% of the total food basket of rural Africa is purchased, which means it’s also coming through supply chains. So, private supply chains are feeding 80% of Africa. I think that’s really important.”

Next, panellists responded to these findings and insights.

Dr Abebe HaileGabriel from FAO said that government, rather than stepping aside, should become an important partner for business. He also urged for a broad and integrated approach to the private sector that incorporated the smallholder farmer.

Ms Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-Founder of Sahel Capital, said innovative investment “at the mezzanine level” was urgently required, alongside agri-business education to secure a pipeline of future talent.

Meanwhile Lucy Muchoki, from Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said businesses in the hidden middle are often women-led, so efforts in this area will also help to address gender inequality.

AASR 2019 is also about future commitments, and the session concluded with the launch of the Farm Fit Fund. A unique coalition to improve farmer livelihoods, Farm Fit has strong financial backing from USAID and other key international partners. Through its targeted support for the hidden middle, the Fund represents an exciting new mechanism for engaging the private sector in Africa.

Download the full report – http://bit.ly/2krF6Oq

Read the press release – http://bit.ly/2luqiiu

September 3 2019

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Burkina Faso that will see the organization extend its operations in the West African country.

The MoU was signed in Accra on Tuesday 3 September 2019 by AGRA President, Dr. Agnes Kalibata and Burkina Faso’s Minister for Agriculture and Hydraulic Development, Salifou Ouedraugo, under the witness of international dignitaries meeting in the Ghanaian capital for the 10th African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF).

AGRA has worked in Burkina Faso since 2006 making investments in input and output markets, systems development, innovative finance, research capacity building and policy development. So far, AGRA has invested US$21.5  million in Burkina Faso’s agricultural sector, building an asset base in technologies, partnerships and models that can now be scaled for significant impact on the status of inclusive agriculture in Burkina Faso.

Some of the investment was used to train 413,587 farmers on Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM), a set of agricultural practices adapted to local conditions maximizing the efficiency of nutrient and water use to improve agricultural productivity. As a result of the training, 86,295ha of land were cropped with the production enhancing technologies. In addition, through AGRA’s intervention, 9,849 MT of produce were commercially aggregated at a value of US$ 1.9M. Similarly, AGRA’s support led to the development and release of 17 varieties of improved seed in Burkina Faso out of which six were commercialized. This is in addition to 38 Burkinabe scholars receiving support in the acquisition of PhD and MSc degrees. All these investments, brought together, contribute to the government’s National Plan for Economic and Social Development (PNDES), which pursues an agriculture-led transformation of the economy.

AGRA promises to maintain its contribution to the government’s quest for a robust agriculture industry strategy that effectively mobilizes resources for the benefit of smallholder farmers and other players in the food value chains. In its role, AGRA will continue until 2023 to invest funds and other supportive resources to meet the Government’s need for a strong agriculture sector that creates employment and improves food security through support for effective coordination and implementation of national plans.

“Burkina Faso is one of the countries where we have received great support since we began our operations in Africa. The signing of this MoU is confirmation of our commitment to our partnership in the fight against food shortage and poverty, with the confidence that by 2025, the country will have achieved the goal of zero hunger,” Dr. Kalibata said.

AGRA will help strengthen Burkina Faso’s agricultural sector systems for improved productivity and the marketing of produce to increase the incomes of at least 1 million smallholder farmers. In return, the Government of Burkina Faso pledges unilateral support for AGRA by providing an enabling environment for collaboration.

“In the years that we have worked with AGRA, we have realised that it is a serious and competent organization and we promise unlimited support for their operations as we pursue food security for our country and the continent at large,” Mr. Ouedraugo said.

Burkina Faso’s economy has grown considerably during the past decade with an annual average growth rate of over six percent. The economy depends heavily on agriculture, forestry and livestock farming, as well as the exploration of mineral resources. Agriculture contributes about 30 percent of the country’s GDP and employs over 80 percent of the workforce. The sector is dominated by small-scale farms of less than five hectares and its main products are sorghum, millet and maize, and cotton.

Before the gold mining boom, cotton was the main commodity exported, accounting for about 60 percent of export revenues. Presently, the country represents less than 15 percent of export revenues, but Burkina Faso remains one of the leading producers and exporters of cotton in Africa. 

Koforidua, Aug 21 – A two day workshop on the production of hybrid seeds and to introduce seed producers to high yielding new hybrid maize seed by the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of Ghana, has started at Koforidua.

The workshop was organized by WACCI with support from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

It is being attended by 46 participants including seed growers, representatives of seed companies, seed technicians, researchers and officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the seed sector.

As part of the training programme, three new high yielding hybrid maize varieties developed by WACCI were introduced to the participants of the workshop.

The three new hybrid maize varieties with capacity to produce ten tons per hector include Abeefo Aburo, Akuafo Aburo and Aburo Lego.

All the three maize varieties are early maturing maize varieties and take between 85 to 90 days to mature.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Professor Pangirayi B Tongoona of WACCI, said many seed producers and seed companies were now focusing more on hybrid seeds, because they provided high yields, which enable the companies and producers to increase their revenue and stay in business.

He explained that the workshop was aimed at educating the participants on how to maintain the parent lines to enable them produce high quality hybrid seed maize.

Mr Solomon Atipo, Desk Officer for Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) at the New Juaben South Municipal Assembly, said the demand for hybrid seed maize under the PFJ was increasing due to the yields achieved by farmers who were privileged to plant some hybrid maize seeds, however, most of the maize seeds supplied to the municipality under the PFJ were open pollinated varieties.

Mr Attipo therefore appealed to seed producers in the Municipality to produce hybrid maize seeds to meet the demand of farmers in the Municipality.

The outgoing Eastern Regional Seed Inspector, Mr Joseph Agayaba, said the region did not have a seed laboratory and so for any scientific information on seeds, samples had to be sent to Accra.

He therefore called for the establishment of a seed laboratory in the Region.

The Chief Executive Officer of Legacy Crop Improvement Center (LCIC),  Mr Amos Rutherford Azinu, urged seed producers to take advantage of the new technology and the high yielding hybrid maize varieties to increase their productivity.

He called on seed companies to collaborate with researchers to develop more high yielding seed varieties and own the patent to enable them boost their business.

GNA

The Interim Vice President – Program Development & Innovation of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Dr. George Bigirwa, has said there is need to help smallholder farmers in the region to access markets to reduce poverty levels in the East African Community (EAC) member states.

Bigirwa noted that research organizations continue releasing improved crop varieties and technologies, yet uptake by the majority of farmers remains low because of the constraint of the market. The result is that they cannot adopt these new innovations and technologies as well as improved crop varieties for fear of wasting their efforts.

“Technologies that will increase production have been developed and even shared among farmers, but we know that those technologies can only benefit smallholder farmers if there is a ready market. That is the main hindrance to increased production and farmers’ incomes,” Bigirwa said.

He added that they have supported the development of improved technologies like seeds in Uganda and the harmonization processes within the EAC member states for such technologies to be accessed by the farmers

Bigirwa, who visited the ministry of East African Community Affairs recently, said the member states should also play their role in helping their smallholder farmers to access bigger markets. 

He had led a team from Nairobi, to assess the impact of the Regional East African Community Trade in Staples Project (REACTS) II Project, which his organization funds through Kilimo Trust.

“With assured markets and improved technologies, we can easily improve their incomes and food security. 

It is along those lines that AGRA agreed to support the REACTS project because we know that one of the key bottlenecks is to do with markets,” he added.

Quality of Agric produce

Bigirwa also insisted that quality and standards must be observed for smooth trading in the region adding that low standards with dirty and broken produce still persist. 

“Apart from contamination with aflatoxin, there are still quality issues like dirty grain because some farmers still don’t have proper drying facilities, discoloured grain, broken grains which affect the quality of the final product,” he added.

In Uganda, the project is supporting maize and pulses value chains hoping to increase house old incomes by 20% for over 3 million smallholder farmers, according to Dr. Birungi Korutaro, the Kilimo Trust country team leader.

“The support is in form of training on best farming practices, how to access storage and post-harvest handling technologies, financial literacy, links to off-takers, Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) to ensure the product meets standards needed when trading across the region,” she added.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community Affairs (MEACA), Edith Mwanja, commended the REACTS project saying it has helped some farmers improve. 

She said the government of Uganda has contributed $6.4million over a five year period and called for donour support to raise an addition of $1.2 million.

“We believe that in the next five years, there will be increased use of structured markets and more trade volumes in beans and maize that meet regional market standards. And I believe this will have improved the livelihoods of Ugandans in more than 25 districts,” Mwanja said.

Nairobi, Kenya August 16, 2019 – The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has announced the appointment of H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, as its Board Chair replacing Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Chairman of the Econet Group, a pan African telecommunications, media and technology company

Mr. Masiyiwa has been on the AGRA Board since it was established in 2006 and served as its Chair since  2013 replacing the late Kofi Annan. Under his leadership, AGRA grew its operations in 11 countries, empowering over 30 million African smallholder farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs to feed 150 million people.

“I have been involved with AGRA since its inception. Over the years, the institution has contributed tremendously to repositioning Africa’s agriculture. We now need to move the conversation from agriculture systems to food systems that will underpin the continent’s prosperity.  While I leave AGRA, I will stay engaged in Africa’s agriculture to ensure we achieve food self-sufficiency by 2030,” said Mr. Masiyiwa.

Under Mr. Masiyiwa leadership, AGRA contributed to the development of numerous sectoral and national policies that favour growth across the agricultural value chains in Africa, leading to an increase the application of yield raising seed and fertilizer technologies, market sourcing and better financing opportunities for farmers.

This is in addition to developing over 650 improved seed varieties of close to 20 key crops and training over 700 scientists at both PhD and MSc levels who are now actively working in seed production in Africa. AGRA has also supported the establishment of 112 local, private seed companies, up from 10 in 2007 in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa. As a result, over 600,000 MT of high-quality, high-yielding seeds have been produced and distributed to an estimated 15 million farmers, with

“AGRA has an excellent board. I have been very fortunate working with such an incredible group of people. There are 17 of us from over 14 countries around the world with close to 50/50 gender balance. I am excited to have a greatly committed leader, H.E. Desalegn take over. I recognize H.E. Desalegn as a forward-looking leader and I am confident that he will steer the organisation and, indeed, African agriculture to greater heights,” added Mr. Masiyiwa.

H.E. Desalegn served as the second executive Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018 and is credited with sustaining the country’s rapid and double-digit economic growth driven by a thriving agricultural sector.

He also served as the Chairperson of the African Union from 2013 to 2014 and was appointed the AU’s champion of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), a continental leadership role that required him to rally fellow African leaders behind policies and strategies to end hunger in the continent by 2025. He joined the AGRA Board in September 2018.

“I received the invitation to chair the AGRA Board as an opportunity to continue influencing African leaders to accelerate the implementation of the AU’s Malabo Declaration to ascertain that food is available, accessible and affordable to all,” said H.E. Desalegn.

“I am also thankful that I succeed Mr. Masiyiwa, a remarkable continental leader, who leaves behind a solid organisation and an impressive track record. I wish him well in his future endeavors and I remain certain of his support in the journey to achieving the continent’s major agricultural prospects.”

AGRA President Dr. Agnes Kalibata hailed Masiyiwa as a revolutionary leader, who helped get the institution on track to transform African agriculture from a struggle to survive to a business that thrives.

“Mr. Masiyiwa has been instrumental in the achievement of our organisational objectives for Africa and it is under his leadership that we reached most of our critical milestones in the drive to transform Africa’s agriculture as the surest path to economic prosperity. I would like to thank him personally, and on behalf of AGRA and the continent, for his contribution to our success,” Dr. Kalibata said.

“In the same way, I am pleased to welcome our new Chairman H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn, a truly African visionary, who, by deed, showed that African agriculture can be properly managed to make the continent food secure. His diverse experience in African leadership is a resource that will help us continue to achieve critical goals.”

H.E Hailemariam will be leading an AGRA Board comprising global leaders with a passion to transform the lives of a majority of Africans living in rural areas through investment in agriculture.

His first engagement as Chairman will be at the 2019 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), on 3-6 September in Accra, Ghana, where he will engage various African Heads of State and other continental and global leaders in discussions around Africa’s agricultural transformation.

About AGRA

Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led, Africa-based and farmer centered institution working to put smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming their farming from a solitary struggle to survive to a business that thrives.

Working in collaboration with our partners—including African governments, researchers, development partners, the private sector and civil society— AGRA’s work primarily focuses on smallholder farmers – men and women who typically cultivate staple crops on two hectares or less.

In the new strategy for 2017-2021, AGRA is supporting 11 African countries and 30 million smallholder farm households (150 million individuals) to increase their incomes and improve their food security.

AGRA drives the bulk of its investments Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA). The founding members of the partnership include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The UK Department for International Development (DFID) has recently joined the partnership, bring greater focus on regional food markets and food trade through policy predictability and market systems development. The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ, is currently a non-voting member and a resource partner, co-financing AGRA’s strategy in Burkina Faso and Ghana.

For more information, please contact Waiganjo Njoroge, AGRA’s Interim Head, Communications, Tel: +254 (703) 033 294, Mobile: +254 723 857 270, E-mail: WNjoroge@agra.org or visit www.agra.org

Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, on tailored approaches and policies to increase agricultural production and investment

How can Africa’s agriculture industry be improved? KALIBATA: It is important that governments prioritise investment in infrastructure to drive agricultural productivity, open up markets and increase private investment in the sector. Without infrastructure, the sector cannot grow. A lack of infrastructure is a particular issue in rural areas, which are the centre of agricultural production. Rural areas need roads, especially feeder roads, in order to connect farmers to input and output markets. Infrastructure for post-harvest handling of produce, including aggregation facilities where farmers collect their produce for sale and drying infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses, is also needed. Additionally, irrigation infrastructure is key to securing yields in the event of drought. This area has huge potential as less than 6% of Africa’s arable land is irrigated. Moreover, investment in energy infrastructure is a critical stimulus for industrialisation. This will require investment in affordable energy infrastructure, as one of the key constraints to manufacturing in Africa and growth of the industrial sector is the cost of energy and the resultant lack of competitiveness.

What kinds of policy can further encourage the development of irrigation systems in Africa? KALIBATA: Irrigation in Africa is constrained by three main factors: First, the irrigation models available focus on large scale activities, whereas 80% of African farmers are smallholders. Second, the skills base to develop irrigation technologies is very weak. Third, the financial requirement in terms of capital investment is huge. Achieving food security calls for a shift from over-reliance on large-scale irrigation to a hybrid that accommodates the needs of small-scale, household farms. This is becoming increasingly possible as technologies like solar-powered water pumps are made available to help smallholder farmers adapt to the changing climate. Governments should also provide financial incentives and make accessing irrigation affordable to farmers.

Large-scale irrigation can also benefit from government support through a reduction in the cost of equipment by removing taxation and providing affordable financial tools. This will encourage the private sector to invest in irrigation. Africa should explore a large-scale irrigation infrastructure model that allows farming communities across the continent to connect and use water at a fee. This is a common model in Asia, and as a result, 44% of Asia’s agriculture is currently irrigated.

To what extent does land ownership impact land use for agricultural purposes? KALIBATA: Very few African countries have policies that define how land is used between competing needs. As a result, most developments are not a product of a well-planned process. There is therefore a need to thoroughly define land ownership, as it impacts how farmers think about the value of land and what they could use it for. For example, Rwanda, despite having one of the lowest amounts of land per capita in Africa, has a completely liberalised land policy. This framework acts as an incentive for households to obtain financing to invest in land improvement – for instance, by investing in better seeds, fertilisers and other technologies. However, even under such an organised system, there is still work to be done on plot allocation for agricultural purposes to ensure optimal land use.

How else can smallholder farm yields be increased? KALIBATA: Smallholder farming in Africa depends a lot on rain-fed agriculture. A green revolution in Africa would have to be backed up by solid knowledge of agro-ecology as the continent’s lands are extremely diverse. Farmers would need better-performing seeds and fertilisers, and better access to financial instruments that enable them to acquire technologies, including those that reduce harvest loss. More importantly, farmers will need access to structured markets to grow their business and to farm sustainably.

Click here to download the full report.

Agriculture, particularly, food trade remains one of the important areas Ghana should focus on to harness the benefits of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) recently adopted by African heads of state, Interim Regional Head, West Africa of the Africa Green Revolution Alliance (AGRA), Forster Boateng has said.

To this end, he has called on the government to put in place the necessary infrastructure, technological and digital systems and policy initiatives to help increase the food production of small-holder farmers in the country.

Mr Boateng said this in an interview with journalists after a private sector breakfast meeting for the players in the agricultural value chain in the country on the upcoming African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) to be held in Ghana at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The programme, the tenth in the series since 2006, slated for September 3-6, 2019 will be held on the theme, ‘The role of private sector in agribusiness value chain digitisation.’

Mr Boateng explained that as an agrarian economy, with abundant water resources and fertile lands, the food sector was one of the low hanging fruits the country could pluck under the AfCFTA.

The AfCFTA is an initiative to provide duty and quota free access to markets in Africa, and is expected to create a market of about 1.2 billion people and a combine Gross Domestic Product of $3 trillion.

Turning his focus on the 2019 AGRF, Mr Boateng said the programme was to bring together experts to brainstorm and explore investment and networking opportunities during the upcoming event.

He said the new strategic direction of AGRA, after investing more than $60-million in small-holder agriculture in the past ten years in the areas of research, inclusive financing and extension services, was to leverage private sector investment to promote agriculture in Africa.

The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto who spoke on the theme of the programme, in a speech read on his behalf said the private sector had a huge role to play to address the financing challenges in the agricultural sector.

He said Africa’s population was estimated to reach 10 billion and this presented opportunity as well as a challenge to the continent in terms of meeting the food needs for the people.

This, Dr Afriyie said digital technology would play a critical role in boosting food production in Africa, and pledged that government would continue in mechanising agriculture in the country.

The President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nana Appiagyei Dankawoso I, in a speech read on his behalf lauded the AGRA for the programme and commended government for the initiatives it had taken over the years to promote agriculture.

Read the original article on Ghanaian Times.

The Kaduna State government is set to establish an e-library and data banks for its Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to strengthen the capacity of the staff of the ministry in the areas of planning and budgeting, monitoring, evaluation and coordination. This is aimed at boosting food production in the state.

Project Manager of the state Ministry of Agriculture, Yakubu Gora, disclosed this on Sunday in Kaduna during the official handing over of ICT equipment presented by Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to the ministry as part of two years collaborations to built capacity of farmers and impact agricultural knowledge. Gora, who also doubles as project manager for AGRA, said the equipment will also be used to monitor the performance of departments in the ministry, in terms of data collection and other daily activities to boost food security for medium and smallholder farmers.

He said: “We will like to see change in mindset and attitude of the staff towards office work and delivering effectively. The purpose of the project is to fill the gaps identified in areas of planning and budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, coordination.” In his remarks, the technical assistant on coordination for Synergos on AGRA project, Muhammad Musa Sheriff, said the equipment will help increase food security for smallholder farmers, as well as improve sources of income for them. “We also aimed to see enhance programme, system delivery and effective coordination in the ministry,” Sheriff added.

The ICT equipment presented by AGRA included; Laptops, Printers, computers and photocopiers. Other ICT equipment received by the ministry are projectors, monitors, and routers among others.

The vast plains of Laikipia County in Kenya are home to two kinds of potato farmers; those that can access the market directly, and those that must go through dealers commonly referred to as ‘middlemen’. This is because, transporting this commodity to the market place often attracts an extra burden of costs, one that many smallholder farmers are unable to bear.

While one would imagine that the farmers with direct access to customers have an advantage, this is not in fact the reality. Many of them rely on the unpredictable flow of potential customers by the sides of major roads connecting the county and other major towns. They target motorists on the roads negotiating for best prices whenever a car slows down and stops. It’s a very informal way of doing business with little consistency or assurity.

The remaining farmers, who are the majority, rely on middlemen who have the capital  to easily meet farmers’ quick cash requirement. Unfortunately, these middlemen often squeeze the prices of the potato to such a low level that whilst they are easing the commodity market burden, farmers are left with little to no profit for their potatoes. 

This exploitive situation is replicated across the country in the potato growing areas and it’s making potato farming increasingly unattractive and unsustainable for small holder farmers.

Potato is the second most important food crop in Kenya, after maize, and it attracts a regular demand across the country all year round.  More than 800,000 smallholder farmers are involved in its cultivation, yielding 2.9 million metric tonnes valued at an estimated Ksh. 50 billion from 158,000 hectares of land annually. The subsector also benefits an additional 3 million people indirectly.

But for smallholder farmers who produce the crop, they suffer the brunt of the exploitative market situation for the money earned is incommensurate to the efforts involved in potato growing.

The losses experienced are mainly a consequence of market dominating middlemen, who seek to buy large quantities of farm produce at the lowest cost possible. Consequently, and because of poor farmgate sales, the price of potatoes is largely determined and set by the middlemen, with the product being sold by extended bagful  instead of weight.  

Without the implementation of laws determining the size of the bags in which potatoes are sold, over time, traders have devised ways of extending the size of sacks to pack more produce, while maintaining the cost per bag at original price.  

While the law is clear on the penalty for such actions with The Potato Produce and Marketing Act  2014 prescribing imprisonment for a period not exceeding  three years or a fine not exceeding five million shillings for individuals who contravene the provisions of subsections 5(2), 9(1), 11, 14(1), and 15 (1)(2) and those who  contravene  7(1), 8(1), 9(1), 10 (1)(b), 13(1), the challenge in curbing the practice of trading using extended bags remains.

Currently, there is light shining on the potato sector in form of the newly enacted Crops (Irish Potato) Regulation, that was gazetted in early April, 2019. The regulation will require farmers and dealers to pack Irish Potatoes into a maximum weight of 50kg and sell by kilo.  Once implemented, the regulation will bring a reprieve to the farmers who previously would sell their produce to traders in bags that weighed up to  120kg at the cost of Kshs. 1,500 translating to a meagre Kshs. 12.5 per kilo. In fact, the new regulation will save farmers up to 50 per cent of their returns which are currently lost due to poor packaging.

Farmers are excited about the regulations but equally concerned. “We are really pleased with the new regulations released by the Ministry of Agriculture, however our fear is, will the regulations be enforced”? laments David Kariuki, one of the potato farmers based in Nyahururu.

To enhance the process of its implementation, The Agriculture Council of Kenya (AgCK) with support from AGRA is partnering with Country Governments of some of the potato growing counties including Nakuru, Nyandarua, Elgeyo Marakwet, Meru, Narok and Bungoma. Through this collaboration, the organisations   have designed a two year intervention aimed at Strengthening the Enabling Environment for the Transformation of Potato Value Chain – SEETPVC. 

The intervention seeks to ensure that requisite implementation mechanisms for the Irish potato regulation, 2019 are put in place by the county authorities who are required to implement the regulations. Among key actions include: sensitization of all actors along the Irish potato value chain; formation of a multi-departmental and formation of a multi stakeholder task unit to spearhead the implementation of the regulations with a secretariat at the department of agriculture.

Implementation suport will also include alignment of county level regulations to anchor the potato regulations and; build the capacity of the different actors to comply and  enforce the regulations. So far, the council has  facilitated development of implementation action plans and road map as well as technical manuals to guide implementation of the regulations.

It is anticipated that, the intervention will result in buy in and adoption of the regulations by the county authorities. Through this, the counties will be able to put in place implementation mechanisms including amendment of any county level regulation that conflict with the regulations, allocation of finances towards implementation of the regulations and documentation of the process towards informing the approach in implementation of other upcoming agriculture sector regulations and effective policy implementation generally.

To realize this, political goodwill is key as well as the need for harmonized and coordinated implementation across all counties. While the regulations seek to create an enabling environment for potato sector development, it should also be clear that other interventions are also important so as to holistically address the challenges farmers are facing including access to certified seed, quality inputs, finance as well as extension services among others.

The implementation of the regulation will further enable the farmers to benefit through their growers associations. To this end, farmers will  be able to determine the price of their produce based on production costs and profit margins. The growers associations will also provide an avenue for farmers to access other services including finances, extension as well as bulk purchase of inputs, thus reducing cost of production significantly.

In addition, there will be an establishment of collection centres; which will serve as the designate point of potato sale and purchase in addition to other designated markets. The collection points will enable farmers to grade, sort and package their potato ready for sale. It will be the key point for value addition. This will go a long way to soothe the pain as described by Paul Wafula a trader at Bungoma Chwele market who notes that ‘’If farmers could consolidate their produce reducing our cost of produce aggregation and surety of quality, we would fetch better prices’’

There is plenty to be done for best results to be achieved. But the enactment of the Irish Potato Regulation and the complimentary interventions for its implementation is already a good show in the race towards alleviating the hurdles faced in marketing potatoes.

Through their CEO, Mercy Mburu, AgCK is urging  Irish potato sub-sector stakeholders to work together. “We must leverage on each other’s strengths towards sustaining the momentum for a regulated potato sub-sector. This will expedite implementation and retain the confidence that the public has in the stakeholders and the sector.”  Mercy emphasises.