WEF_GrowAfrica_AnnualReport2014

Forward Look
Forward Look
FORWARD LOOK
Investment and Partnering Opportunities
PRIORITIES FOR PROGRESS
A focus on forging concerted public-private
action to deliver the national vision
Kenyan agriculture benefits from Presidential-level
commitment, a comprehensive strategy, and a dynamic
private sector. Upcoming years will focus on concrete
implementation through collaboration between the
public and private sectors, both at national and county
levels. To support growth in agriculture, country
partners have identified the following priority areas for
progress in 2014 and beyond:
•¡
establishing a one-stop shop for companies that
need to work with government on advancing
investments;
•¡
structuring financial instruments – such as a
dedicated agribusiness fund – to bolster alternative
agricultural initiatives amongst smallholder farmers,
expand agribusiness ventures and support cropspecific
value-addition initiatives;
•¡
creating appropriate incentives to attract FDI through
special economic zones, free-trade zones, industrial
parks and clusters, and industrial mapping;
•¡
instituting enabling policies and changes to improve
global competitiveness and the ease of doing
business;
•¡
building attractive sectors where the country has a
natural comparative advantage, including livestock,
dairy, fisheries and horticulture;
•¡
encouraging growth and investment for SMEs;.
•¡
Strengthen delivery capabilities, especially for
structures such as the ASCU to concretely act on
growth strategy targets for the sector; and
•¡
advancing long-term infrastructure projects, such
as the LAPSSET corridor and national expansion of
irrigation, including by using public funds to leverage
private investment.
Additionally, from 2014, Grow Africa will support Kenya
in undertaking a promotional push to generate LoIs
from committed companies.
For the Grow Africa Investment Forum 2014, Kenya
has prioritised the dairy, meat products (leather), rice,
mangoes, passion fruit, cashew nuts and soya value
chains for B2B opportunities. The rationale is based on
food security and the ability to increase incomes and
create jobs, especially for young people and women.
More generally, the following investment opportunities
have been identified by the GoK:
Rising domestic demand for rice offers
good commercial prospects
Rice is Kenya’s third most popular cereal and
domestic consumption is rising 12% per year. Kenya
produces just 110,000 of the 300,000 tonnes
consumed locally each year, with the shortfall made
up by costly imports from Asia. Import substitution
offers a commercial opportunity that would attract
government support in part to protect Kenyans from
fluctuations in global food prices. In addition, a newlydeveloped
IR522 strain of rice (which requires less
water) has been created by the Kenya Agricultural
Institute in partnership with the International Rice
Research Institute in the Philippines, offering good
prospects for a boost in rice production.
Livestock and dairy potential of largest
herd in the region waiting to be tapped
The Government of Ghana has engaged the World The
full potential of livestock and dairy in Kenya remains
untapped, with huge growth possibilities for beef,
leather products, and milk and milk by-products. With
the largest dairy herd in east and southern Africa,
Kenya has the capacity to meet local dairy demand as
well as target regional markets. To facilitate the growth
of these markets, Kenya’s government is set to initiate
a programme for modern commercial livestock and
dairy farming, focusing on securing forward contracts
for various livestock and dairy products.
Flagship irrigation scheme will open up
new land for production
The government has launched a programme to
irrigate at least one million acres of land on the
Galana-Kulalu Ranch. The transformation will entail
production, harvesting and storage, agro-processing,
packaging, and distribution and marketing along
agricultural supply chains. Implementation has
begun, with a pilot phase covering 10,000 acres of
land aimed at drawing lessons on the performance
of various crops, focusing on food crops, fruits
(mangoes, passion fruit and avocado), livestock and
fish. Beginning from the 2014-15 fiscal year, irrigation
of 100,000 acres of land will be rolled out by the
government to benchmark production costs and sale
prices.
New cashew sector project is set to crack
the commercial nut
Kenya’s ailing cashew industry, which provides a basic
livelihood to 60,000 farmers, is set for a boost. Under a
project involving the government, research scientists,
processors and producers, aging trees will be replaced,
farmers educated, credit made more readily available
and market access improved. The Nut Processors
Association of Kenya projects cashew output could
quadruple by 2015 from the current 10,000 tonnes a
year. Partners in the initiative include the Ministry of
Agriculture, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute,
the African Cashew Alliance and the Cashew Growers
Association. The scheme also involves distributing
180,000 seedlings every year for the next five years,
training producers to better manage their harvested
nuts, and forming farmers’ associations to facilitate
better access to credit for inputs.
Freshly-bored aquifer unplugs irrigation
options for Turkana drylands
A government-funded borehole has tapped the
largest aquifer discovered in Kenya’s dry northwest
region – Turkana County. The new source opens up
prospects for a range of agricultural opportunities in
the area, especially through irrigation.
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Kenya
Kenya
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