Kenya: New Cutting-Edge Technologies to Redefine Farming in This Decade

Agriculture remained the country’s biggest employer last year, absorbing more than half of the working population and contributing the lion’s share to the national purse.

However, the sector continued to grapple with high cost of production, disjointed markets, pests and diseases, paucity of capital and inadequate policy support from government, among other hiccups.

Indeed, it was a tough year for farmers, with many grappling with spiralling cost of general inputs, especially pesticides, whose costs rose following the introduction of a 16 per cent value added tax. The high cost of farm chemicals has opened doors for the proliferation of cheaper counterfeits.

But the bottom-line is that the resulting increase in production costs means that our milk, maize, wheat and eggs cannot compete with those from neighbouring countries.

The weather pattern was also not favourable for farmers in 2019, with the rains becoming increasingly unpredictable.

The ongoing heavy rains in various parts of the country have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of crops and washed away roads.

The rains followed a prolonged dry spell that equally affected yields, especially for crops planted during the March to May season. This means the country is staring at yet another cycle of food crisis in the coming months.

Despite the grim picture though, 2020 promises to be a much better year for farmers.

To begin with, there has been an increase in innovations and investment in smart agriculture. It is encouraging to note that young people are at the centre of the technological renaissance, with a good number ditching ties and suits for gumboots, a departure from the past.

But the bottom-line is that the resulting increase in production costs means that our milk, maize, wheat and eggs cannot compete with those from neighbouring countries.

The weather pattern was also not favourable for farmers in 2019, with the rains becoming increasingly unpredictable.

The ongoing heavy rains in various parts of the country have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of crops and washed away roads.

The rains followed a prolonged dry spell that equally affected yields, especially for crops planted during the March to May season. This means the country is staring at yet another cycle of food crisis in the coming months.

Despite the grim picture though, 2020 promises to be a much better year for farmers.

To begin with, there has been an increase in innovations and investment in smart agriculture. It is encouraging to note that young people are at the centre of the technological renaissance, with a good number ditching ties and suits for gumboots, a departure from the past.

But the bottom-line is that the resulting increase in production costs means that our milk, maize, wheat and eggs cannot compete with those from neighbouring countries.

The weather pattern was also not favourable for farmers in 2019, with the rains becoming increasingly unpredictable.

The ongoing heavy rains in various parts of the country have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of crops and washed away roads.

The rains followed a prolonged dry spell that equally affected yields, especially for crops planted during the March to May season. This means the country is staring at yet another cycle of food crisis in the coming months.

Despite the grim picture though, 2020 promises to be a much better year for farmers.

To begin with, there has been an increase in innovations and investment in smart agriculture. It is encouraging to note that young people are at the centre of the technological renaissance, with a good number ditching ties and suits for gumboots, a departure from the past.

But the bottom-line is that the resulting increase in production costs means that our milk, maize, wheat and eggs cannot compete with those from neighbouring countries.

The weather pattern was also not favourable for farmers in 2019, with the rains becoming increasingly unpredictable.

The ongoing heavy rains in various parts of the country have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares of crops and washed away roads.

The rains followed a prolonged dry spell that equally affected yields, especially for crops planted during the March to May season. This means the country is staring at yet another cycle of food crisis in the coming months.

Despite the grim picture though, 2020 promises to be a much better year for farmers.

To begin with, there has been an increase in innovations and investment in smart agriculture. It is encouraging to note that young people are at the centre of the technological renaissance, with a good number ditching ties and suits for gumboots, a departure from the past.