The agriculture sector in Kenya has failed to bring about agricultural development, food security and poverty reduction.
Policy formulation has remained a top-down process in the country centralised at the national level of government.
The influence of the patrimonial state in which all powers flow directly from the leader, relationship between ethnicity and agricultural practices, political economy of agriculture and dominance of donor assistance priorities and absence of evidence-based policy research have hindered effective policy formation.
The creation of county governments has breathed a new life into the agriculture sector. County governments provide the potential to increase transparency and room for debate for farmers at the county level to enable them chat their own destiny.
Is the county government of Kisumu doing that?
I know farmers have a big role to play for us to awaken the sleeping agricultural sector. I also know that we need to bring together all the stakeholders in the agricultural sector in Kisumu County.
The county government must harness the will and the determination of farmers, processors, the private sector, civil society, farmers organisations, research institutions, universities and non-county actors to realise the agricultural potential of Kisumu County.
For agriculture to develop in Kisumu County, the government should engage the local communities that are the main stakeholders. Their voices have to be included in any blueprint laid down in the sector for us to realise effective and sustainable agricultural development.
Poverty levels are high in Kisumu. It has abundant, yet under-utilized, and unexploited big reserves of fertile agricultural land.
The county government should take an initiative to figure out the challenges hindering the growth of agriculture and food security in the region.
Our agricultural sector can only improve if we realize the proper means of mitigating the challenges impeding the growth of the sector in our county.
Stakeholders and the ministry concerned, should discuss with farmers the current trends in the sector and strive to introduce and promote modern farming methods.
It is a pity that in the 21st Century our people are still using traditional methods of farming such as broadcasting of seeds. That is plain guesswork in the name of farming.
Devolution came with joy and many expectations for poverty reduction. I am sure that we can reduce poverty, but only if all the stakeholders come together to revive the dying agricultural sector.
The county government of Kisumu should work day in day out to ensure farmers progressively improve yields and all residents sleep on a full stomach because of improved agriculture.