Kenyan President William Ruto has said the Kenyan government is taking necessary measures to reduce hunger, fight poverty, and improve the health of Kenyans.
The President stated that maintaining enough food supply to feed the nation’s population and growing the most significant value chain in our economy depends on investments in agriculture.
“Agriculture’s direct contributions to our GDP is 25 percent, while its indirect support to other economic pillars, such as manufacturing, boosts the GDP by a further 27 percent,” President Ruto said.
President William Ruto made the remarks on Saturday June 1, 2024 while officiating the country’s marking this year’s Madaraka Day celebrations, with a strong call for unity and patriotism among Kenyans.
Speaking in Bungoma County which hosted the 61st Madaraka Day, the President said Kenya will never go back to politics of ethnicity, personalities and exclusion. President Ruto used the occasion to enumerate his administration’s achievements in the agricultural sector, and promised more development projects across the country.
This year’s Madaraka Day theme is Agriculture and Food Security. The President emphasized that Kenya will combat poverty, lessen hunger, and enhance citizen health under the terms of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
“I am particularly delighted that agriculture and food security are the chosen theme of this year’s celebrations,” President William Ruto said. He was impressed by the small-scale farmers’ unwavering commitment to increasing food production—they are the most powerful group in Kenya’s agricultural sector.
The President stated that the administration has implemented a Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda driven by agriculture to improve social inclusion and a strong, thriving economy.
“Under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, we will reduce hunger, fight poverty and improve Kenya’s health outcomes,” President Ruto said.
According to him, local farmers have overcome structural and institutional barriers to support the nation’s and households’ needs for food security while also boosting the local economy.
“Consequently, we have worked effectively with farmers and other food system value chains to transform their productivity beyond subsistence and enhance the country’s food security,” He added. President Ruto said that the government has written off KSh110 billion in debt acquired over 40 years by sugar factories as part of its attempts to modernize the industry.
According to the President, reforms have been implemented in a number of industries, including coffee and tea, to guarantee that farmers receive a good return on their investment and to strengthen the national economy.
“Measures are underway to boost coffee productivity from 2kg to 10kg a tree, and from 50,000 metric tonnes to 102,000 metric tonnes a year by 2027,” he said. Ruto declared that KSh6 billion in debt due by coffee cooperatives would be written off by the government.
He said that in order to restore the environment, the government will keep pushing for afforestation, the rehabilitation of damaged landscapes, and the encouragement of Kenyans to plant trees.
“We have made progress towards fulfilling our commitment to build 100 dams and 1,000 small dams in different parts of the country, to facilitate sustainable water use and increase irrigated land by 500,000 acres by 2026,” said the President.
To prevent livestock diseases and pests, President Ruto stated that the Kenya Veterinary vaccinations Production Institute (KEVEVAPI) will produce 35 million doses of various livestock vaccinations by 2023.
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To improve farmers’ access to financing, the President stated that KSh1 billion has been granted to the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) for the next fiscal year.
“Additionally, we are collaborating with Afriexim Bank to provide KSh15 billion to AFC to support increased lending to farmers,” he said.
He stated that the government has obtained quota-free and duty-free access to the 27-member European Union market for Kenyan farmers’ exports under the Economic Partnership Agreement struck between Kenya and the EU.
”I also wish to report that during my recent visit to the US, we negotiated the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, an instrument which has enhanced access to the US market for African exports, and catalysed the rapid growth of Kenyan exports, especially in the textile and apparels industry,” said Dr Ruto.
Background
Madaraka Day is a national holiday that is celebrated every 1 June in every year in the Republic of Kenya. Madaraka is a Swahili word to mean power
It commemorates the day in 1963 that Kenya attained internal self rule after being a British colony since 1920.
