SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. MWAI KIBAKI, C.G.H., M.P., PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE 2007 A.S.K. NAKURU NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW, NAKURU SHOWGROUND, 12TH JULY, 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to preside over the official opening of the 2007 A.S.K. Nakuru National Show. This event and indeed the A.S.K. Shows in general, have over the years provided a forum for our farmers to showcase their products and by doing so, to learn from each others' experiences.

During my tour of the demonstration plots and display stands, I was impressed by the high quality of livestock, crops and other products. I have no doubt that everyone attending this show will have something to learn from the elaborate displays made by our farmers and business people. I therefore want to urge all the show visitors not only to admire what is on display, but also to obtain useful knowledge of the practices and experiences of the exhibitors and apply them in their own farms and businesses.

I note that the theme of this year's show is "Empowering People Through Growth in Agribusiness". This theme reflects the outcome of the sector policies implemented by my Government over the last four and a half years. As a result of these policies, agriculture has become a truly rewarding economic activity that has improved incomes and the quality of lives of thousands of our people in the rural areas. Above all, there are numerous opportunities for business and investment in agro-processing and marketing of agricultural products. We will continue with policies in support of the agricultural sector so that our country can become self-reliant in food production. For instance, the budget resources allocated to the agricultural sector have more than doubled from 14.6 billion shillings in 2002 to 29.6 billion shillings in 2007. The sector ministries have been restructured to make them more efficient and responsive to farmers' needs by reviving extension services and institutions.

Moreover, we have strengthened linkages between research, extension and farmers in order to facilitate the flow of information and knowledge to the farmers. Above all, my Government is now providing credit to farmers at an affordable interest rate. Since 2003, the AFC has loaned over 2.1 billion Shillings to more than 9,500 maize and wheat farmers in this Province. In addition, over 763 million shillings has been loaned to 4,125 farmers for farm development. The government is aware that facilitating the farmer to move produce to market centers is critical. We have therefore continued to invest heavily in infrastructure development, including rural access roads in this province.

At the same time, my Government has completed 120 electricity schemes in the province at a cost of 536 million shillings, and will complete another 150 projects at a cost of nearly 1.5 billion shillings by December this year. Furthermore, we have revived some of the key public institutions that serve to empower our farmers with better prices and marketing services. These include the Kenya Co-operative Creameries, the National Cereals and Produce Board, and the Kenya Meat Commission.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My Government will not relent in its endeavour to continuously improve incentives for profitable farming by our smallholders. However, it is clear that we still have a long way to go before the majority of Kenya's smallholders can thrive as commercially profitable farm businesses. Accordingly, my Government is working closely with other stakeholders to develop low cost and profitable technologies and practices covering a wide variety of crops and livestock products that can be adopted easily by smallholders in the marginal farming areas. Our objective is to ensure that all our farmers and livestock producers across the country have equitable opportunities to improve their livelihoods through commercially rewarding small-scale farming and livestock production.

In this regard, the Co-operatives sector remains the most viable means of nurturing and promoting commercial farming by small-scale farmers. The sector is vibrant in the Rift Valley, with 1,165 active agricultural marketing cooperatives, and 2,608 savings and credit cooperatives. Together, the agricultural marketing and savings and credit cooperatives have over 1 million members in this province alone. Strengthening the cooperative movement must be a priority, since cooperative societies are the most viable marketing institutions for agricultural produce.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The past four and half years have seen the agricultural sector perform remarkably well by reversing food insecurity and poverty trends that were increasing since the mid 1980s. I thank our farmers for ensuring that despite the recurrent droughts, floods, and disease outbreaks, crop and livestock production has continued to grow steadily since 2002. This growth has enabled us to improve the national food security supplies, and achieve a substantial reduction in the number of people living below the poverty line nationally from 56 percent in 2002 to 46 percent last year. We want to sustain these positive trends by encouraging the development of a vibrant agribusiness sector that buys, processes and markets produce from smallholder farmers locally and abroad. I would like to encourage both local and international investors to take full advantage of the increased farm production, improved infrastructure, and the expanding economy to establish new agro-processing plants or expand existing ones in Nakuru and other towns in this province. Such investments will create jobs and contribute towards the improved welfare of our people and further reduce poverty levels.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This province is the main producer of maize, which is the most important food crop for the majority of our people. My Government will continue with its policy of stabilizing maize prices through the National Cereals and Produce Board. Currently, we are maintaining a price of 1,300 shillings per bag of 90 kilogrammes to enable farmers get a fair return on their investment. I applaud Rift Valley maize farmers for responding to these incentives by producing 20 million bags of maize last year valued at 26 billion shillings. While this quantity was impressive, it was well below the optimal production potential of 36 million bags for this province. I urge farmers to adopt the recommended farming technologies and inputs in order to realize the full potential of the province in maize production.

With regard to cash crops, Rift Valley produces tea, coffee, pyrethrum and horticultural products. Last year, farmers in this Province earned 20 billion shillings from 135 million kilogrammes of tea. However, although the earnings were high, the yields were well below the 150 million kilogrammes attained in 2005. In order to encourage farmers to increase tea production, my Government has started 8 tea factories in this province.

Another important agricultural activity in this region is horticulture. Last year, farmers in this province produced 930,000 metric tons of horticultural produce valued at 8.3 billion Shillings. My Government will spend 3 billion shillings over the next 5 years with support from development partners in promoting the growth and expansion of this sub-sector in Rift Valley and other provinces of the country.

With regard to pyrethrum, the sector has been negatively affected by the non-payment of farmers' dues for the year 2003 amounting to 863 million Shillings. As Government, we will not allow our farmers to suffer. We will pay the outstanding arrears, while also pursuing those responsible for this unacceptable situation. Accordingly, my government allocated 200 million shillings during the last financial year to pay the arrears owed to farmers. A further 663 million shillings has been allocated for this purpose this financial year. I am pleased to note that about 70,000 farmers have already been paid. I am, therefore, instructing the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that all pyrethrum farmers are paid their arrears by September this year.

Turning to the livestock industry, the Rift Valley province has an estimated population of 3.2 million beef cattle, 1.8 million dairy cattle, and 5.5 million sheep, 6.7 million chicken and 2,250 ostriches. Last year, farmers from this province earned 7.3 billion Shillings from milk sales, compared to 6.2 billion Shillings in 2005. Farmers also earned 19.9 billion Shillings from sales of assorted livestock, 299 million Shillings from hides and skins, and 200 million Shillings from honey. My government is aware that diseases continue to pose a major challenge to the growth of the livestock sub-sector. We will therefore continue to implement disease control and dip management programmes in the province, as part of the wider national campaign to control livestock diseases.

As I conclude my remarks, I wish to thank farmers in this province for demonstrating the true meaning of a Working Nation. In 2003, I emphasized that the farmer was to be an integral part of the economic revival programme, because an empowered farmer is an empowered consumer. Since then, I am happy to note that the farmers in this province have taken full advantage of the reforms and incentives we have provided in the agricultural sector to increase their earnings.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, I take this opportunity to thank the Agricultural Society of Kenya for continuing to organize successful agricultural shows throughout the country.

With these remarks, it is now my pleasure to declare this year's Nakuru National Show officially open.

Thank you and God bless you all.