Agriculture Sector Development In Kenya

INTRODUCTION

Background Information

The importance of agriculture in Kenya cannot be over-emphasized since it forms the backbone of the country’s economy. Agriculture contributes directly 26 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and another 25 per cent indirectly. It supplies the manufacturing sector with raw materials, generates tax revenue that helps to support the rest of the economy and accounts for 65 per cent of Kenya’s total exports. It also employs over 40 per cent of the total population, and, over 70 per cent of the rural population depends on agriculture for their livelihood.

The agriculture sector plays an important role in Kenya’s economy (Government of Kenya, 2009), and has been identified as a key driver to achieve the

The overall goal of ASDSP is to support the transformation of Kenya’s agriculture sector into an innovative, commercially oriented, competitive and modern industry that contributes to poverty reduction, improved food and nutrition security in rural and urban Kenya as a result of improved production and productivity in the rural smallholder farm and off-farm sectors through the value chain approach. The ASDSP has three components, namely:

Component 1: Sector wide Coordination. In this component, an inclusive institutional framework for implementing the ASDSP is initiated and coordination in the sector is supported. Component 2: Natural Resource Management. The component is designed to provide an enabling environment for the value chain component and at the same time build wider ecosystem resilience. Component 3: Value Chain Development. This component supports the commercialization and market orientation of the agricultural

The training was conducted between 6th January and 6th March 2013 at the prestigious National Institute for Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) in Rajendranagar, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The training was organized under a tri-partite arrangement involving India, The USA and Africa, and its purpose was to contribute to improved food security in Africa through training of agricultural extension functionaries for improved agricultural productivity. It was attended by 30 delegates from Africa; 10 each from Kenya, Malawi and Liberia. The methods used in the training included; lectures from a variety of experts in different areas of extension, field visits to different states, institutions and organizations, as well as interactions with farmers and other