The private sector has been urged to step in and fill the gap of extension services within the agricultural sector to boost food productivity in the country.
Experts have raised an alarm that the low farmer to public extension services ratios could claw back the gains made in food production and urged for concerted efforts in addressing the same from the private sector.
Speaking when marking 20 years of Kilimo Trust Chief Executive Officer Dr. Birungi Korutaro noted that extension services play a crucial role in agricultural development, focusing on food security, productivity, and sustainable farming practices.
“We have been able to equip farmers with technologies to support the dissemination of information that is needed by the smallholder farmers to increase production, reduce post-harvest handling losses, and access markets,” she stated.
Country team leader Kilimo Trust Kenya Anthony Mugambi highlighted the widening gap to be filled in the agricultural sector and urged the youth to develop interest in agribusiness.
According to Mugambi, the state should factor programs that will attract youth to agriculture in order to tap their expertise in modern technology spaces.
“The current challenges facing the agriculture sector require countries in the region to conceive homegrown solutions, especially to help in taming the increasing vagaries of climate change,” he said.
“As Kilimo Trust, we have been able to work with polytechnics as well as technical and vocational training centers (TVETs). We found that the polytechnics and the TVETS are playing a pivotal role in creating jobs when they skill the rural youth through their rural or regional centers,” she added.
The concerns raised by Kilimo Trust reflects the latest survey by the Kenya National Bureau of statistics that showed maize production decline by 6.1 per cent to from 47.6 million bags in 2023 to 44.7 million bags in 2024.
The survey noted that this is largely due to the erratic OND rains. Potato production also dropped slightly from 2.3 million tones to 2.2 million tonnes.
Kilimo Trust is currently working with 180 companies that are providing the opportunities for the youth, enabling them to get experiential learning, and the CEO said that the trainees have an option of accepting to be retained in those companies, getting hired by other companies, or starting their own businesse