Government will spend Ksh54.6 billion in 2024l25 financial year to finance various agriculture activities in the sector,
National treasury and planning Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u while reading the 2024/25 budget statement said the Government will continue to focus on agricultural transformation and inclusive growth through the value chain approach.
He added that the aim will be to provide adequate and affordable working capital to all farmers through cooperative societies and deploy modern agricultural risk management instruments that ensure farming is profitable and income is predictable.
‘ The government aims at transforming farmers from food deficit to surplus producers through input finance, subsidies and intensive agricultural extension support, raise the productivity of key food value chains, reduce dependence on basis food imports, revamp underperforming export crops and boost tea value chain through blending and branding’, Prof. Ndung’u said .
In order to attain food and nutrition sec
urity, the CS proposed an allocation of Ksh 54.6 billion for various programmes under the sector.
This includes Ksh 10 billion for the fertilizer subsidy programme, Ksh 6.1 billion for the National Agricultural Value chain development project, Ksh 2.5 billion for emergency locust response, Ksh 2.4 billion for the enable youth and women in agriculture , Ksh 747. million for small scale irrigation and value addition projects and Ksh 642.5 million for the food security and crop diversification project.
On livestock, Prof. Ndung’u has proposed Ksh 2.4 billion for de risking, inclusion and value enhancement of pastoral economies programme, Ksh 1.5 billion for livestock value chain support project, Ksh 1.5 billion for Kenya livestock commercialization programme , and Ksh 192.5 million for the embryo transfer project .
‘ I have also proposed Ksh 300 million for the development of leader industrial park while at the same time proposed an allocation of Ksh 340 million towards ending drought emergencies project as t
his will raise agricultural productivity and enhance resilience to climate change risks in targeted smallholder farming pastoral communities’, the CS said
During his remarks , Prof. Ndung’u said that the Kenyan economy is susceptible to the ranging impact of climate change as demonstrated by the prolonged drought in 2021/22 the severest in the last 40 years and the recent floods that led to loss of lives and damage to property and infrastructure across the country.
Source: Kenya News Agency