Central Bank gives thumbs up to future of agriculture
PERFORMANCE: Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) projects that the agriculture sector will perform well this year despite the disruptions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the locust scare experienced earlier in the year.
Speaking during an online briefing last week, CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge said the sector performed well in the second quarter of 2020 with further indications that it will continue doing well the rest of the year due the favorable weather the country has experienced.
He singled out tea, cane, and maize as some of the sectors that have performed well in the just ended quarter adding that the cut flower sector was on an upward trajectory after travel restrictions in the international markets were eased.
Quite well
“What is clear is that Agriculture sector in Kenya has been doing quite well. Tea has been strong in terms of production and consequently in terms of exports,” said Njoroge.
“It’s true that there has been some concerns about fertiliser among smallholder tea growers, but all that put together we still expect a 6.5 per cent increase in terms of production and that should be reflected also in terms of exports,” he added.
CBK projects tea production for the year to hit 489,000 metric tonnes, about 30,000 metric tones above last year’s production of 459,000 metric tonnes. In the second quarter of 2020, tea production grew by 5.7 per cent, according to Njoroge.
Similarly, cane deliveries this year were higher compared to a similar period last year due to increased acreage and good weather.
