Kenya to Seek Donor Support for New Agriculture Development Fund
July 11, 2008| |
In response to the World Bank’s recent calling for increased funding to the agriculture sector to boost food production, the Kenyan government plans to launch a multimillion dollar special fund for farmers. Agriculture minister William Ruto said the proposed Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) targets to raise half a billion dollars from the government, private sector, foundations and donor agencies. Currently, agriculture sector and related ministries including Livestock, Fisheries, Cooperatives and water are jointly seeking views from stakeholders on how to start the fund and sustain it. Economists, however, say that agriculture sector related ministries require about US $1.3 billion while the estimated credit need by Kenyan farmers is about One Billion USD. This will be used to fully revive following the massive losses they incurred due to chaos that rocked the country early this year as a result of disputed presidential elections.
Kenya’s economy is largely dependent on agriculture which contributes 25% of the GDP and 65% of foreign exchange earnings. Ruto said the facility would also be used to finance research and development of new seed varieties that are resistant to diseases, pests and drought. The African Union obligates its member states to allocate at least 2% of the national budget to research, science, technology and innovation activities as one way of ensuring the continent’s rapid industrialization.
For more information contact Daniel Otunge (d.otunge@cgiar.org) of ISAAA AfriCenter
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