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A few weeks ago, while doing some mapping on new businesses that have started or expanded in the aquaculture space in western Kenya counties, we came by a young man who had taken a chance on opening a retail fish shop that doubled as a small restaurant specialising in fresh fish delicacies.
On asking his biggest challenge, he lamented that even before he set up the business, the cost of licensing of his small shop, through various certificates, had been over Sh120,000.
That is before any stock. On further discussion, we realised that at the retail level, the cost of charges was very high. This is a problem that effects farmers even at the primary level.
The cost of energy and inputs have driven overall cost of production so high up that farmers have failed to be competitive compared with our East African peers. Kenya imports fresh produce in more quantities more than any other East African country.
It had little to do with the structure of laws, but just reduction of tariffs and other small readjustments here and there.
The other week, a friend shared with me a screen shot of a would-be piece of legislation to be tabled before the National Assembly and the Senate. It was titled Rice Bill. I got so curious and so I went through it.
The previous week there had been extensive coverage of a Mung Beans Bill that was before the House. Just two days after that we came across the Horticultural Crops Authority Bill and even before the week closed there was yet agro-based Bill, the Nuts and Oil Development Bill Proposed by Senator Hamida Kibwana to take care of coconut, cashewnut, groundnut, palm oil, sunflower and other similar crops.
Does this sector require such legislation at this time? Are those pieces of legislation bridging the gap and would they add anything to the bottom line, encouraging production and putting money into the pocket of the farmer?
All these Bills have similar objectives in that they intend to establish new bodies, regulatory and administrative bodies. They will add another layer of bureaucracy of more approvals, more levies and fees.
They will create administrative and management duplications as none seeks to revoke the existing agencies and parastatals in agriculture. Wit the tax regime already complex and not predictable, the confusion and taxation would increase. further disadvantaging farmers.
Even as these gets implemented and as more laws get to be proposed at the national level, let it not be lost that agriculture is a devolved function and that counties are solely responsible for the management of the sector.
There are already agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture that have defined roles that assist the farmers. Instead of new regulatory and administrative bodies the sector risks over legislating itself. If the trend continues maybe every single crop and livestock would have its piece of legislation instead of tackling what works. If the cost of production is high, we all know what should be done.
Is it possible to reduce tariffs of inputs to make agricultural equipment, seeds and raw material used to make feeds cheap? Can we have reduction in cost of power. Is it possible to refocus on investment and deployment of new technologies whereby yields can increase, double or triple per acre or each small space. Kenya as a country is so lucky that we hae partnerships with all key markets.
Economic Partnership Agreement with European Union, Agoa with United States, Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement with other African countries.
While the Africa Growth Opportunities Agreement (Agoa) has over five thousand different and distinct crops and products, we hardly utilise it more than ten percent.
We have AfCFTA but we have made transportation expensive in Africa and expensive to travel Inta-Africa than between Africa and Europe. Paris and London and Amsterdam is easily accessible and cheaper that going from Nairobi to Accra or Dakar or Banjul.
Agriculture is still key to our development as a nation and so the Ministry should bring the sector to order. The legislative activism should end and new initiatives follow a clear policy and plan for the sector.
This sector is the key driver and feeds the manufacturing sector. It also allows the retail and wholesale sector to thrives and the value chain has a capacity to create many jobs in the sector, from transportation, warehousing and even aggregation.
The writer is a member, Nairobi City County Budget and Economic Forum and Founder, Magharibi FSFS Centre
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