The 21st Century has seen many great advances in agricultural production owing to genetic engineering and mechanization. In industrialized societies, agricultural production has reached sophisticated levels, where machines do most of the work leaving man only the management and control aspects to handle. Currently, most of these countries rely on Genetically Modified Products such as maize, soybeans, rice, potatoes, tomatoes and other crops, which have helped increase yields.
The use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or its products is currently being debated in Kenya. Most people have strong opinions for or or against the use of these products. The arguments against the use of GMOs are focused on lack of a proper policy framework for the use and production of GMO products, lack of adequately trained personnel who can verify the safety of these products and high levels of corruption which if not properly regulated will lead to misuse of GMO products in the country. Moreover, most of the rural farmers lack basic knowledge of the farming techniques which are required for growing GM crops.
The famine situation in the Horn of Africa region is still a major crisis affecting millions of people especially in Somalia and refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. Recently the World Food Program made an appeal for donations to assist the famine victims. A number of such initiatives are being done in Kenya, within Africa and the world over. The response is positive and in the short term is going to assist those in dire need of food supplies.
As a long term measure, the world needs to rethink its food security strategy. The problem in Africa is a world problem. It is therefore imperative for those in the positions of power, in the humanitarian sector, in the private sector and the farmers of the world to go back to the drawing board and come up with workable policy backed by real action to eliminate this food-shortage predicament.
The United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India and China are the world’s leading producers of GM crops. In 2006, Paraguay, South Africa, Uruguay and Australia have also reported noteworthy levels in GM crop production. However, GM crops have remained uncommon in Europe and most of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Kenya enacted the Biosafety Act 2009, which laid down legal and institutional frameworks for governing modern biotechnology. The Act promotes and facilitates public awareness, education and input GMO products; it's also concerned with the safe transfer, handling, and use of GMO’s in relation to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking into account risks to human health. Kenya recently approved laws allowing for the production and importation of GM crops, becoming the fourth country in Africa to do so after South Africa, Egypt and Burkina Faso.
A number of African countries are conducting research on GM crops such as maize, rice and wheat that could lead to production. These countries include Ghana and Nigeria from West Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe from Southern Africa, and Tanzania and Uganda from East Africa. In Kenya, the food shortage can be eliminated if the farmers embrace better seed varieties, mechanized food production and fertilizers.
Western Kenya
In Kenya, about 20% of the total land area supports agriculture; and the remaining 80% is either arid or semi-arid. However, the use of irrigation will allow crops to be grown in arid lands. Parts of Central, Eastern, the Rift Valley region and the Western region have a good climate which supports food production. The Rift Valley region practices large-scale commercial agriculture as well as small-scale subsistence agriculture. This mixed type of production is also quite common in parts of Central, Eastern and Western regions.
Kenya has a good climate which allows the growing of food crops such as maize, sorghum, millet, cassava, groundnuts, potatoes and other crops. These areas have two annual planting seasons which range from March to July and August to December. The main season is between March and July when heavy rains drench these areas. The second season normally receives little rainfall which at times affects yields. The two seasons, if well utilized, will produce an adequate amount of grain annually. However, the farming practices in these counties are affected by a lack of fertilizer, poor grain varieties, inadequate training on agricultural production techniques, lack of government extension services and laziness by some farmers. Other contributing factors include poverty as most farmers in these areas live below the poverty line. Substance abuse renders most of the youth unproductive, and the rural-urban migration of the young men hinders an improvement in agricultural production. A majority of the inhabitants of these areas leave their lands uncultivated most of the year. At times, you may find a farmer who owns five hectares of land but is only able to utilize two hectares. By leaving the land fallow, the production capacity is compromised contributing to low national grain output.
The Western region especially Bungoma, Busia and Mt. Elgon counties is a special concern for low crop production. In comparison with other regions in the country, the Western region is lagging behind in embracing modern farming methods and maximizing crop yield. This translates to the high infant and maternal mortality rate experienced in this region due to malnutrition, vector-borne diseases especially malaria, diseases caused by faecal – oral contamination such as acute gastro-enteritis, bacillary dysentery, cholera, enteric fevers, food poisoning, poliomyelitis, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDs, and general poverty.
Busia County
Busia County boasts of a heterogeneous population comprising of the Luhya sub-ethnic groups such as the Bukusu, Samia, Banyala, Marachi, among others, and other ethnic groups such as the Iteso, Kikuyu, a few Indians, Somalis to name but a few. Cross border trade with the neighboring Uganda is thriving and the major points of convergence include Malaba and Busia towns. Though the cross-border trade is helping many earn a living in this county, it has also negatively impacted agricultural production. In order to earn a better living, most people along the border have opted to take casual jobs at the border, neglecting agriculture. This explains why many farms lie idle in most parts of the county throughout the year. Despite the high population growth, little has changed in terms of agricultural production. Among those who rely on agriculture, they barely produce enough to feed themselves because of poor agricultural practices.
Livestock production could have been an alternative source of wealth but very few people have embraced commercial livestock production. Those who raise cattle, sheep and goats keep indigenous varieties which produce little milk; or if sold, fetch a very small amount of money.
Rural Development Programmes
The government, the private sector and the local population must interact at various levels to make production effective in Busia County and other areas of the Western region. Among the necessary intervention measures, a thorough study of the counties’ productive capacity must be completed. After determining the productive capability, thorough training of the local population should be done in order to sensitize the farmers on the importance of modern farming methods. These activities should be done by extension officers, the private sector as well as the local leaders. Using local and easily available methods is recommended in the beginning, and complex agricultural practices should follow at later stages.
Rural development programs have been undertaken in other parts of the world aimed at improving the living standards of the rural farmers. In India, the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was launched by the government in 1978 in a few districts and later extended throughout India by 1980. IRDP was a self-employment program intended to raise the income-generation capacity of target groups among the peasant farmers. The aim was to raise beneficiaries above the poverty line by providing substantial opportunities for self-employment. In the first 10 years of the project, close to US$ 1 billion were utilized. Some 13 million new families participated, bringing total coverage under the program to more than 18 million families. The IRDP played an important role in increased agricultural production by educating farmers and providing them with financial and other assistance to increase yields.
The objective of IRDP was to enable identified rural poor families to cross the poverty line by providing productive assets and inputs to the target groups. The assets which could be in primary, secondary or tertiary sector are provided through financial assistance in the form of subsidy by the government and term credit advanced by financial institutions.
Kenya’s food situation will greatly improve if better farming methods are employed and if rural development programs such as the successful IRDP are instituted in Kenya.
Alexander Eyong - I am a dedicated writer on humanitarian issues and poverty alleviation strategies.
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