Agriculture sector allocated Ksh46.8b
Key strategies will be fast-tracked in the 2022/23 Financial Year to tame the effects of the prolonged drought and the high prices of farm inputs, mainly fertiliser, thus strengthening farmers’ ability to produce more food.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS)Ukur Yatani yesterday while reading the 2022/23 budget statement in Parliament yesterday assured that in the 2022/23 fiscal year Sh46.8 billion will be expended to finance agriculture as one of the key components of the Big Four Agenda.
“The skyrocketing fertiliser has hit farmers hard and thus reduced their purchasing power. To cushion them, I have factored in 2022/23 budget of Sh2.7 billion. The money will be used during the short rains season of October-December 2022,” said Mr. Yatani.
More than 3.1 million people in 23 counties are facing starvation and collapsed livelihoods with Yatani promising that the government through various programmes will ensure the situation has been tamed.
New allocation
The new allocation is over and above Sh3 billion released last week to mitigate the same which for the last one year has increased by more than 100 per cent.
Though agriculture value chains criticised the budgetary allocation saying it is far below the 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security that advocated allocation of 10 per cent of the national budget to agriculture development by the African governments.
The Sh46.8 billion is part of total budgetary allocations of Sh63.9 billion the sector has been allocated for the 2022/23 financial year.
“The aim of this pillar is to achieve food and nutrition security for all Kenyans. This will be achieved through large scale production of staple food, expansion of irrigation schemes, increased access to agricultural inputs and implementation of programs to support smallholder farmers to sustainably produce and market various commodities,” added Yatani.
He explained Sh4.2 billion will be allocated to fund the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusivity project, Small Scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project (Sh1.5 billion), Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme (Sh1.7 billion) and Emergency Locusts Response (Sh1.9 billion).
Other projects targeted to benefit from the budgetary allocations are National Value Chain Support Project (Sh1.6 billion), Food Security and Crop Diversification Project (Sh690 million), Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project, (Sh7billion) Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme II (Sh1.1 billion).
Water harvesting
Yatani added that Aquaculture Business Development Project will benefit with Sh2.6 billion, Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic Development Project (Sh2.8 billion), Exploitation of Living Resources under the Blue Economy (Sh1.3 billion), Kenya Livestock Commercialisation programme (KeLCoP), (Sh1.65 billion) and Irrigation and Land Reclamation (Sh8.5 billion).
The CS confirmed that Sh9.8 billion will be committed to enhancing water harvesting, for example, continued construction of major water reservoirs like the Thiba dam and rehabilitating water pans.
