Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to preside over the official launch of the Kenya Agricultural Sector Development Strategy and to witness the signing of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme. These twin events are immensely important both to the economy of our country and the livelihood of our people in the African continent.

More so agriculture remains the mainstay of most African economies. It contributes, on average, over 30 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and provides 60 per cent of all employment. Moreover, up to 80 per cent of the total population in Africa live in the rural areas and are mainly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. In spite of its importance, the agricultural sector remains largely underdeveloped in Africa . Out of the 874 million hectares of arable land in Africa , for example, only 27 per cent is optimally utilized.

Regarding farm inputs, fertiliser use in Africa is only an average of 20 kilogrammes per hectare per year, and is even lower in Sub-Saharan Africa at 9 kilogrammes per hectare of arable land. The corresponding figures are 100 kilogrammes per hectare for South Asia and 206 kilogrammes per hectare for the industrial countries. Application of improved seeds and mechanization for farm operations in Africa is also the lowest in the World. Similarly, and despite its enormous irrigation potential, only 1.4 per cent of Africa’s arable land is irrigated compared to 49 per cent in South Asia .

As a result of this underdevelopment, our people have continued to face famine from time to time forcing our continent to be a net importer of food and agricultural products. It is now estimated that the continent imports over 22 billion US Dollars worth of food. Indeed, agriculture in the continent has generally performed poorly, with the relative share of African agricultural exports in world markets falling from 8 per cent in the 1970’s to 3.2 per cent currently.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In order to reverse this state of affairs, African countries need to step up a wide range of measures aimed at revitalizing the agricultural sector. These measures include:

1. ensuring that agricultural inputs, that is fertilizer, seeds and agrochemicals are available and affordable to farmers;

2. strengthening and maintaining our agricultural institutions for extension, research and innovations, agro-processing and marketing;

3. ensuring that farmers can access affordable credit even if it means changing our credit laws in favour of farming enterprises;

4. investing in irrigated agriculture with each country committing to achieve more than 50 per cent of its irrigation potential by TWENTY TWENTY;

5. ensuring that farmers have good access to markets for their produce, by improving rural infrastructure and instituting Guaranteed Minimum Returns and farm insurance schemes and

6. transforming our farming enterprises from producers of primary raw material to producers of value added products ready for consumption.

I am encouraged to note that the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme that we shall be signing today is a step in this direction and aims at the implementation of these measures. The objective of this African Programme is to support country-driven agricultural development strategies and programmes by establishing clear commitments to deliver on specific targets.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Here in Kenya , we have stepped up measures to strengthen the agricultural sector. In this connection, we have been implementing the Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture from 2003 to 2008. During this period, we increased investments in agriculture from a meagre 0.5 to 5.6 per cent of our national budget. During the same period, we achieved agricultural growth rate of 6.2 per cent, which is slightly above the African target. These gains were, however, interrupted by external factors; but I am pleased to note that in the last half of this year, the sector has regained and is now at 5 per cent.

In line with the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development programme, my Government has developed a new Agricultural Sector Development Strategy TWENTY TEN TO TWENTY TWENTY, to guide the further development of our agricultural sector. The strategy’s overall objective is to achieve an agricultural growth of 7 per cent per year over the next 5 years. It aims at positioning the agricultural sector strategically as a key driver for sustained economic growth.

A major component of this strategy is the recognition that sustainable growth in agriculture will inevitably be anchored on increased private sector participation. The Government will, therefore, endeavour to create an environment that will enable the private sector to take over many of the commercial enterprises that are currently with the Government. Our aim is to transform Kenya ’s agricultural sector into a profitable economic activity capable of attracting private investments and providing gainful employment for our people. My Government will institute policy, legal and regulatory reforms so that individual farmers feel encouraged to shift from subsistence production to market-oriented commercial production.

I am glad to note that the Kenya Agricultural Sector Development Strategy has mainstreamed all the principles of the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development programme. The strategy’s development process fulfils the specific steps for developing the agreement document which is our final endorsement of the African programme. Through this endorsement, we are declaring that the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme is now fully domesticated in Kenya , and the strategy is effectively the tool for implementing the continental framework in Kenya .

Ladies and Gentlemen,

While the completion of this new strategy is a major step forward, the main challenge is the implementation of the policies contained in it. I urge those entrusted with the responsibility of managing this sector to cultivate the culture of performance and service delivery. I also urge the farming, pastoral and fishing communities as well as the private sector to cooperate and fully participate in the implementation of the strategy.

In conclusion, I wish to commend the African Union Commission, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency as well as COMESA for their relentless efforts in spearheading the continental agricultural agenda. I also commend the sector ministries for working together to produce the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy that we are launching today.

With these remarks, it is now my pleasure to officially launch the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy.

Thank you and God bless you all.