Agriculture
From The Report: Kenya 2018
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Agriculture remains a significant part of the Kenya economy, however, growth was slowed by several hurdles, most prominently a drought that the state declared to be a national disaster. The drought restrained domestic production of staple crops such as maize, leading to food scarcity and steep rises consumer inflation. Despite the lower grain output, production of horticultural crops marked an all-time high and remained crucial sources of foreign exchange earnings. Meanwhile, meeting the ambitious target set by the Big Four agenda, which aims to transform Kenya from a state incapable of satisfying domestic demand into a food-secure country, will require mitigating dependence on rainfall, diversifying the nation’s staple basket and supporting smallholders. This chapter contains an interview with Agnes Kalibata, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Cutting with the grain: Building resilience, security and value is key to development
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Amid strong growth in other sectors, agriculture remained a significant, if smaller, part of the Kenyan economy in 2017, accounting directly for 31.5% of the nation’s GDP. Farms also employed 38% of the formal workforce, while authorities estimated real sector participation to be higher, owing to informal farming. In 2017 growth was slowed by several hurdles, most prominently a drought that the state declared to be a national disaster. The drought restrained domestic production of staple crops…

Interview

Cultivation on the continent: Agnes Kalibata, President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, on tailored approaches and policies to increase agricultural production and investment
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Interview:Agnes Kalibata How can Africa’s agriculture industry be improved? AGNES 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…

Analysis

Sowing the future: Agri-tech data drives a revolution in moving food to markets
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In recent years the accelerating uptake of new means of crop production and distribution have begun to change Kenyan smallholder farming. Between 2015 and 2017 Kenyan start-ups involved in agricultural technologies and innovations – also referred to as agri-tech – raised KSh1.37bn ($13.4m). In the wake of this explosive growth, Kenya, which was an early leader on start-up investment in Africa, has become home to 19 of 82 such firms on the continent. Investment in these ventures has been…