The Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with county governments embarked on a mission to create a central data base of farmer’s information earlier in 2023. With support from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the ministry successfully registered over 7.5Million farmers in 45 counties.
This program is alignment with the Kenya Kwanza’s BETA agenda to reform the agriculture sector.
Creating a reliable database for farmers in the country, with Kenya being only the second African country to accomplish this, will have various benefits to the Kenyan farmers.
The Deputy President had time and again decried the corruption in the sector that left the small scale farmers especially at a disadvantage. Brokers and cartels have previously denied many farmers access to fertilizers and input or hoarded these inputs to hike their prices.
The Kenya Kwanza’s subsidized fertilizers will now be distributed fairly and transparently area chiefs and local authorities have all their local farmers’ information, ensuring they can inform them in timely fashion on the arrival of these inputs as well as the correct amounts each and every one of them need.
In these digital times, having farmer’s information will ensure they receive alerts and informative tidbits, as well as emerging trends on their phones immediately the information is available. Access to information is the way to growth, value addition and quality control in the sector. The government in partnership with various organizations such as FAO will be able to inform farmers on matters pertinent to them and their farms.
Informed and well aware farmers on the current trends in the sector will now make more accurate choices and decisions in relation to their farming practices.
This will in turn improve their production and yields and ultimately their livelihoods. People looking to invest more in farming can rely on this to make better and timelier investments to reduce costs and more importantly, the losses encountered with minimal information.
In line with the Kenyan Kwanza government’s BETA agenda, the ministry hopes to entice more young people into farming and one way to do this is to improve the sector in all possible aspects. Creating employment by encouraging more young people to embark on farming is a significant step in reducing the rates of unemployment and improprieties such as drug use and alcoholism among the youth.
This program’s aim is to increase productivity in farming as well, for both economic and social growth of all farming areas in the country.