The second National Agriculture Summit was held on the 26^th and 27^th of May 2022 at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Headquarters in Nairobi. Themed “Accelerating Private Sector Investments in Agriculture for Growth and Transformation,” the 2-day event brought together more than three hundred participants drawn from the government, private sector, research, academia, development partners, and farmer organizations to take stock of the agriculture sector and develop timebound actions to transform and grow the sector.

Some of those who participated in the event, which was organized by Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET) – the Agriculture Sector Board of KEPSA, included Hon. Lawrence Omuhaka – Chief Administrative Secretary for Livestock and Fisheries; Mr. Harry Kimtai – Principal Secretary, State Department for Livestock; Ms. Flora Mutahi – Chair, KEPSA; Dr. Bimal Kantaria – Chair, ASNET & KEPSA Director; Mr. Victor Ogalo – Deputy CEO – Business, KEPSA; Dr. Wilson Songa – Director, ASNET; Ms Jane Ngige – Vice-Chair, ASNET; Ms. Agatha Thuo – General Manager, ASNET; Mr. Tito Arunga – Head of Agribusiness, Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO); Mr. Mucai Kunyiha – Chair, KAM & KEPSA Director; Arch. Lee Karuri – KEPSA Trustee; Ms. Waithera Gaitho – Vice-Chair, KEPSA ICT & Youth Sector Board among others who joined both physically and virtually.

Making his introductory remarks, Dr. Wilson Songa said the second National Agriculture Summit coming two years after ASNET was established was an important forum in the agriculture sector calendar. He said, “We are going to review what we have managed to do so far and agree on what more we still need to do because this is a broad network of stakeholders. Let us make the best use of this opportunity to create even more linkages.”

Jane Ngige Vice-Chair, ASNET While enumerating the achievements ASNET has made since its inception, Jane Ngige said the summit was crucial as a follow up to the inaugural, where the stakeholders rallied and took stock around the ten points that form ASNET’s focus agenda. “We need to re-define the role of the small-scale farmer and the SME agro processor in their contribution to the economy,” She said. “We are pushing for the allocation of at least 10% of the national budget to Agriculture since the sector contributes about 23% of the country’s GDP and accounts for 80% of national employment, mainly in the rural areas,” She noted.

The ASNET General Manager said the summit was a gathering of everyone who had a stake in the agriculture sector with a critical focus in the years ahead on youth empowerment and skills transfer on modern and innovative farming methods.  ASNET, she said was already implementing a project in collaboration with TVETs in Kisumu, Siaya Vihiga, Kakamega, and Bungoma to get them attached to agro-processing food companies for the critical skills transfer in their local areas. “The private sector plays a critical role in agriculture and the government must provide the requisite investments & an enabling environment for the private sector to move forward by improving the fortunes and opportunities of SMEs in the sector,” Said Ms. Thuo.

Mr. Tito Arunga of FAO, on his part, said it was impressive to see the journey that ASNET is on and the achievements since its inception adding that ASNET’s initiative-taking role in unlocking the food distribution and access situation during the COVID-19 period had a huge positive impact on both large and small enterprises in the sector. “The private sector has a significant role to play to ensure sufficient food production for the growing population, which is projected at 100M by 2050, 40% of whom will be living in urban centres,” He revealed. “The private sector has a significant role to play in ensuring that there is better production, better nutrition, better environment, and a better life by providing safe and nutritious food for this growing population,” He concluded.

Daniel Gunther of GIZ said accelerating private sector development in agriculture can create a flourishing foods sector with more formal and informal jobs noting that only 16% of agriculture products in Kenya undergo value addition. Faster innovation adoption in the sector, he said, would require collaboration and sharing of ideas while picking learnings from past experiences. He said, “Traditional food processors need new skills and training, and we encourage the private sector to engage in training of young people to gain new skills for the next generation of farmers.”  

In her remarks, the KEPSA Chair said agriculture as the backbone of Kenya’s economy touches all Kenyans noting that most Kenyan professionals working in the urban centres also indulged in animal husbandry including horticulture and small-scale vegetable farming.

“That is how important agriculture is to us, hence the coordination for food security in the country is important in the private sector. The need to unify the fragmented agriculture voices is what necessitated the formation of ASNET, and we believe this summit will help in developing more pragmatic solutions to the current challenges affecting the agri-food systems,” She said.

Dr. Kantaria on his part noted that the network had received great support from the government in the joint efforts to improve the agriculture space in Kenya, pointing to the Agriculture Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS). He said ASNET’s scorecard since inception is good but there was still a need to do more in improving and growing agriculture in Kenya. “We need to embrace and implement fully the ASTGS that talks about how to transform agriculture in Kenya over the next 10 years. In this regard, we have the responsibility of coordinating discussions that will lead to a consensus on the issues plaguing the sector,” said Kantaria while adding that through concerted engagement and sector-wide interventions, two Kenyan potato producers had received contracts to supply KFC with homegrown potatoes.

The PS in the State Department for Livestock said the government would work together with the private sector to nurture ASNET to the next level of growth adding that players in the agricultural value chain should push towards resilience and stability of the sector against shocks such as Covid-19. He said that the State Department will have continuous engagement with stakeholders so that policies are reflective of what is needed to move the sector forward.

In his keynote address, Hon Omuhaka said that the transformation of agriculture in Kenya was critical and a strategic goal in growing the economy, reducing the cost of food, alleviating poverty, and delivering 100% nutrition to the populace for total food security.

“Transforming the agriculture sector will provide the tools to combat price volatility, improving the environment for private investment and developing more strategic approaches to lower the country’s dependence on food imports,” He said.

While making a presentation on ‘Understanding Key Challenges and Opportunities for Private Sector Investments in Agriculture’, Mr. Victor Ogalo said that Kenya needed to institute solid plans to combat the effects of climate change and drought on agriculture. “Adequate scenario planning is critical if we are to manage our risks in the sector. For example, trends show that drought is a 5-to-6-year cycle in Kenya. The gap is that we have not built adequate infrastructure such as sustainable irrigation and storage facilities for bumper harvests,” Said Mr. Ogalo.

The summit featured exciting discussions on various topical issues in the sector. Arch. Karuri summarized the importance of agriculture to the Kenyan economy as espoused in the summit. He also enumerated the need to implement the existing policies in transforming local agriculture as well as the value of building a vibrant export strategy to guarantee business for agro-processors and producers alike. “Agriculture is critical because it contributes to most jobs, highest GDP and has the highest potential for growth in Kenya with proper investment,” He concluded.