State providing solutions to food security challenges

Food security has always been a challenge for Kenya. Swarms of locusts that recently invaded our country have taken this issue to new heights.

According to experts, this recent plague is expected to cost Kenya Sh2.9 trillion in agricultural productivity.

This is primarily a result of the fact that the locusts targeted the two counties most focused on agriculture, Kirinyaga and Laikipia.

The challenge to our food security is a significant one, particularly given that in the past, natural disasters such as these caused farmers to lose up to 70 per cent of their crops.

Travelling as much as 130 kilometres per day, a swarm the size of the one currently plaguing our country, can wreak havoc on upward of 200 tonnes of vegetation daily.

 In such extreme cases, conventional solutions, such as the spraying of pesticides or even burning fields, are not enough. Innovation is key to ensuring the future of the agricultural sector.

The government must be working hard to not only prevent plagues, but also to ensure food security.

Many countries have addressed their food security challenges temporarily but in an unsustainable way.

This has been by either increasing government subsidies or adjusting the metrics through which they measure food production. President Uhuru Kenyatta seems to have sought to address the problem.

The government has spearheaded a unique approach which emphasises the use of science and technology.

Addressing the problem at its root and not simply providing temporary solutions will prove instrumental in both increasing domestic food production and strengthening our farmers.

According to the President, we must empower our farmers to increase their output per acre, reduce their unit cost of production and significantly improve returns on their investment.

It is best to look for solutions locally. 

Instead of importing knowledge needed to guarantee food security, the government is looking to make use of technology developed right here in Kenya.

The country has always been a continental leader in technological development, and has been aptly referred to by many as the “Silicon Savannah”.

A study this year conducted by the International Development Research Centre and Oxford Insights corroborated this, ranking Kenya first on the continent in technological ingenuity.

Seeking to support innovation, academic institutions, encouraged by the Ministry of Education, have even created special research grants.

This is in order to encourage the research and development of the revolutionary technologies which our country currently requires.

The international relationships that President Kenyatta has been developing particularly with the United States, have and will continue to be instrumental.

With the help of our friends at USAID, Sh22 billion has been invested in the research and development of creative measures to ensure food security.

This has taken place through their Feed the Future programme, allocating funds towards pioneering technological solutions for current and future challenges that might face our agricultural sector.

“All these and other initiatives should help make Kenya a food secure country,” the president once said.  

Globally, the market for agricultural technologies has skyrocketed from $1.3 billion per year over the last five years to $1.9 billion in 2019 alone.

The importance of using the right technology is that it can increase output, create a more sustainable harvest and even healthier produce.

For example, using advanced technology to care for crops can reduce the use of pesticides by close to 90 per cent.

Moreover, it has been proven to reduce electricity as well as the amount of water used by at least half, while at the same time more than quadrupling farmers’ output.

Technology alone is not sufficient for success. Government’s constant support will create more development opportunities.