Identification of problems with the regulation of Agriculture and Agribusiness in Kenya, evaluating the extent to which the new legislation framework is likely to offer redress and invigorate the sector

Introduction

The Agricultural sector is the mainstay of the Kenya’s Economy, Ideally the sector is a major contributor to the growth and development of our economy and as such it contributes 24% of the Gross Domestic Product and 27% of Gross Domestic Product indirectly through linkages with manufacturing, distribution and other related services.

Since the sector approximately contributes to about 45% of the Government Revenue, the Government has been keen to put in place various policies and regulations, to see to it that the sector develops well. And that it is given high priority as an important tool for fostering national development.

Government through the Ministry of Agriculture and other Independent regulatory bodies have been working together to ensure the implementation of the set policies and regulations. Some of the regulatory bodies include- Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services-KEPHIS, National Environment Management Authority-NEMA, State Department of Veterinary Services, Kenya Bureau of Standards-KEBS. Pest Control Product Board among others.

The study seeks, to understand the different legislative framework in agriculture, and agribusiness and perhaps the setbacks faced by the existing legislations in addressing the problems facing the sector, thus it involves a closer look at the new dispensation of the constitution and the policies therein.

Some of the policies include-

• Pyrethrum Industry Policies.
• Development of Sugar Policy and Amendment of Sugar Act.
• Fisheries Act.
• National potato Policies.
• Livestock Act.
• Agricultural Sector Development Strategies 2010-2020 ADS.
• Cotton Policy and Repeal of Cotton Industry Act 335.
• National Agriculture Livestock and Extension Policy-NALEP.

1^ST POLICY. PYRETHRUM INDUSTRY POLICIES

Kenya is the one of the major producers and exporters of pyrethrum, and thus a significant contributor to its economy. But in the mid-1990s due to high cost production, disease damage and delayed payment by the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya.

Decreased production was also fueled by the unfriendly policy regulating environment by the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya, and so this from then saw the issue of low productivity, scarcity of planting materials, subsequently leading to the decline of the of the crop in the World Market.

So the policy and regulating framework, that has been operating creates confusion and does not favor revamping of the sector.

From 1938 , the sector has been governed by the pyrethrum Amendment Ordinance which created the Pyrethrum, Law was amended in 1964 with enactment of pyrethrum Act Cap 340 ,that established the Pyrethrum Board of Kenya and the Pyrethrum Marketing Board –PMB , The two were later merged through another amendment in 1977 to recreate the Board.

REDRESS-

1. In 2013, the Pyrethrum Act Cap 340 was repealed by the Crops Act 2013 and on the same day Pyrethrum Act no. 22 of 2013which established the Pyrethrum Regulatory Authority-PRA was also enacted.

However, the Agriculture Foods Authority-AFA Act, 2013 took over all the farmer institution established under the repealed Acts including the PBK. A situation created where the two bodies –AFA and PRA have been provided for to govern an Industry creates confusion and inconsistencies.

2. Amendment has been proposed to reinstate Pyrethrum Board of Kenya as the regulator and the transfer of commercial function to Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya-PPCK.

3. Since the wake of devolution and the Agriculture being devolved to County levels , there has been concerted effort by the 18 pyrethrum growing counties in the country to revive the cultivation of this important crop.

2^ND POLICY. DEVELOPMENT OF SUGAR POLICY AND AMENDMENT OF SUGAR ACT NO 10

The Sugar Industry is on the brink of collapse unless drastic and radical measures are taken immediately to salvage it. The regulator, the Agriculture Fisheries and Food Authority, has failed to tame the forces responsible.

And so from the look of things the sector has not doing its best and the government particularly the Ministry of Agriculture, has failed to take any action as the situation gets out of control.

Some of the problems include-

1. The removal of tariffs and the country relation with COMESA states has seen a situation where there exists rampant importation of cheap sugar from COMESA members and so infringement of this policy saw a deterioration of local sugar companies.
2. The lack of framework to address the issue of low seed quality, high taxation levels, the excessive number of middlemen and the inadequate Sugar Development funds.
3. The economic liberalization and global trade de-regulation has posed a lot of challenges to the sugar industry. Multi-lateral and regional trade treaties has seen sugar imported with Zero Tariffs from producer states and hence difficulty in marketability of locally produced sugar.
4. Failure in institutional structures processes and policy to invigorate the sector, in terms of research development as well as extension services for the cane farmers.

REDRESS-

The survival of the Sugar industry depends solely on the successful implementation of the critical policies and perhaps a revision of the unworthy policies.

Some of the policies include-

1. Devolving of the power to allow the cane producer set prices from the Kenya Sugar Authority to committees composed of out growers organizations and sugar company management, to ensure that prices for produce are fair.
2. A reduction in taxes and levies in sugar production to aid in increasing the competiveness of Kenya sugar in both the domestic and foreign markets.
3. Zealous implementation of sugar quotas and imposition of taxes and duties on imported sugar, to ensure local sugar factories reduce their inventories and thus implement changes to improve their performance.
4. Kenya Sugar Research Foundation –KESREF, to conduct more research into new early maturing seed varieties that are resistant and have higher sucrose content.
5. Allowing of Sugar companies utilize the Cess fund paid to local authorities to improve the infrastructure.

3^RD POLICY. FISHERIES ACT

Several legislative policies have been formed from both in the old dispensation of the constitution and the promulgated constitution, to gather for this sector.

This policies aim at creating an enabling situation for a thriving fishing industry, as well as sustainable utilization of fisheries resources for a responsible and better aquaculture to achieve the involvement of fishermen in common fisheries management.

But, the sector for a long time had not get a closer attention and little or no investment was channeled to this sector and so with the infringement of policies this lead to-

1. A decrease in the total value of export due to the ban of from imports from Lake Victoria by the European Union.
2. Improper handling of fish, grading and harvesting, packaging and lack of National Fish Quality Control Lab.

The lack of a closer coordination between the institutions managing this sector, led to an unfavorable environment for the sector and thus the staggering of the sector. With the poor infrastructure and human resource development, lack of support fueled the same.

REDRESS.

The Government has drafted several policies to ensure the sector has been invigorated. Section 40 of the Crops Act, 2013, read together with section 46 of the Agriculture Fisheries and Food Authority, 2013-AFFA Act, gives power to the Cabinet Secretary in consultations with the Authority and the county government to make regulations for the better carrying into effect of the provisions of the Act.

Some of policies to address include-

1. The government to develop or rather develop infrastructure including breeding sites, cooling plants and access to reduce wastage and achieve required sanitary and health standards.
2. Encourage growth of Micro-finance institution to ensure provision of Credit services to the Fishing Industry sub-sector.
3. Promote a closer regional cooperation in management or regulation of trans-boundary fisheries for example in the control of water hyacinth.
4. The Kenyan Government and the Food and Agriculture Organization-FAO, have put in place the Blue Growth Iniative-BGI, which is aimed at helping select areas of the coastal region to develop fisheries and aquaculture.
5. Kenya’s 2014-2017 National Nutrition Action Plan recognizes fisheries as one of the major sectors that contribute to the goals of the national nutrition agenda.

4^TH POLICY. NATIONAL POTATO INDUSTRY POLICY

Potato is the second most important food crop, after maize in Kenya. And just like any other sector, the industry previously faced challenges in regards with the framework which regulated it. And so this posed challenges such as- inadequate access to adoption of production informed technology where the farmers get to produce in maximum, with the infringement of policies in regards to proper breeding and thus the mix-up of varieties. The supply of quality or preferred varieties is also inadequate. From then also there has been a less adoption of standardized package and weight as well as the minimal value addition.

REDRESS.

1. New regulatory policies have been put in place both in draft and implemented ones, to ensure the potato industry thrives well, and so the related institutions have been streamlined to be favorable to the industry. A good example is the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate – KEPHIS, which was granted license as Private inspector to come up with implement regulations and policies to ensure the industry thrives.
2. The problem of Inadequate Potato varieties and seed production- The policy on restraining the importation of Potato tubers on the Seed and Plant Varieties Act in 1972 lead to poor quality of seed and preferred varieties. The Act was repealed in 2013 , to allow importation ,hence high quality seed variety.
3. Poor post harvesting handling ,value addition and marketing , this has been addressed in terms of training youth ,the key industry players in Agribusiness using extension services in proper farming practices , as well as procession of contract farming for reliable supply.
4. The structural alternations in the 1990s such as the allocation of land to private entities saw a reduction of land owned by institutions like KALRO and ADC, leading to slow multiplication of seed and limited availability of varieties. But now government has allowed them to own expansive lands hence fast multiplication of favorable varieties.
5. The adoption of proper and standard packaging and weighing and the subsequent commercialization of the sector as well as adoption of drought resistant varieties has seen the sector thriving with those policies in place.

5^TH POLICY. LIVESTOCK ACT.

Since Independence and the old dispensation of the constitution the Livestock Sector has seen a number of legislative policies formulated to foster its growth, but as its common with other the policies it has also faced a lot of challenges in achieving full implementation. A good example is the policy in the mid-1990s which saw a scrap of export compensation pushed leather exporters out of the market, thus leading to increased importation of leather products.

Disease prevalence also became a challenge and due to the high mortality rates and the fact the sector has not yet implemented covers for such incidences, thus the difficulty in policies implementation due to losses by farmers.

REDRESS.

With the wake of the new constitution the sector has seen many of the policies present being repealed and made better. Some of the redressing policies include-

1. The introduction of Livestock Insurance, in October of 2015, the first government livestock insurance scheme in Africa was launched-the Kenya Livestock Insurance Program KLIP, was successfully piloted in two counties in the North Kenya. This together with better Veterinary services is going to encourage the Livestock Keeping.
2. Devolution has contributed a lot ,as such few counties are beginning to put key infrastructure such as abattoirs and livestock markets
3. At the moment, the main policy governing livestock production is the is the National Livestock Policy –NLP. This aims at raising livestock rearing to a world-class level by improving breeding, nutrition, animal health, animal produce processing and marketing, research and extension. The other anchor is the Veterinary Policy VP which is yet to be launched and so an implementation of this would the farmers access the lucrative international livestock and livestock products market.
4. Introduction of disease free zones and the required inputs to facilitate the farming and thus enabling the farmers acquire international markets for their livestock, this is achieved through imposition of quarantines to manage disease spread.

6^TH POLICY. AGRICULTURAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES 2010-2020.

This was created to ensure the sustained agricultural growth and that all the resources are marshaled to the maximum and as such transform from subsistence to commercial agriculture. The policy is for the sector ministries and the stakeholders in Kenya. The document dictates the characteristics, challenges and opportunities, vision, mission etc that the ministries will undertake to propel the agricultural sector to the future.

Due to the existence of mis-cordination among ministries the Agriculture Sector Coordination –ASCU, was created to address the same.

The issues of credit facilities to the farmers were a major challenge, the introduction of Agricultural Finance Corporation AFC, didn’t help much since the corporation was mismanaged and so farmers no longer benefitted from them.

The challenge of input acquiring became a threat due to monopoly of production and the poor distribution system.

REDRESS-

1. The development of this strategies saw a revival of old agricultural industries, examples include Kenya Meat Commission-KMC , Kenya Cooperative Creameries-KCC and other related companies.
2. The stepping up of research in the sector as well intensive extension services offered through spirit behind the set up strategies has saw the sector thrive.
3. The shift of subsistence kind of agriculture to effective commercialization has seen the eradication of poverty and subsequent reduction of food insecurity.
4. With the presence of a better coordination of the sub-sectors and institutions, has fueled the Value Addition in the agricultural produce and thus promoting the growth of the sector.
5. The strategy is also coupled with the role of Marketing of goods and produce up to global level to ensure a proper utilization of semi-arid areas, through for example Irrigation.
6. Policy framework fueled by these strategies has ensured that agriculture research has been undertaken by both by public and private institution to enhance productivity, food security and safety and thus ensure effective competitiveness in domestic and global markets.

7^TH POLICY. COTTON POLICY AND REPEAL OF COTTON INDUSTRY ACT CAP 335.

• The Cotton industry is among industries in Kenya that is on the verge of dying due mismanagement.
• There was imposition of restriction on the importation of the quality seeds which thus reduced production and subsequently low quality output. This together with unstable prices of cotton in foreign markets fueled the downfall of this industry.

REDRESS

1. The importation of certified seeds has been allowed. Policy allows importation of seeds from Israel to small scale farmers to encourage them practice cotton farming.
2. Many textile industries are come up to ensure demand for cotton is increased and farmers are assured of the market.
3. Value addition is being done to enhance self sufficiency in production. The policies to regulate the prices to encourage more farmers to produce cotton.
4. There has been advisory committee to ensure appropriate policies in favor of cotton industry are developed. Control of pests and disease which was a major challenge to most farmers, was addressed by introducing extension officers and research to enhance proper control of the same.

8^TH POLICY. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE LIVESTOCK AND EXTENSION POLICY – NALEP.

1. Agricultural sector has had a minimal number of extension officers to train farmers with knowledge on agriculture. Their services play a tremendous role in agricultural production.
2. Majorly farmers depended on these services for marketing of their produce which has posed a challenge because most the extension officers available don’t meet the demand of available.

REDRESS

1. New formulated policies of E-extension services that is, electronic extension services has been developed to enable farmers to easily access the services at any time.
2. The Extension services have a tremendous role in seeing to it that agricultural production is done to the maximum to curb food insecurity.
3. Extension officers ensure that the new technology has been appreciated by the farmers. This was done by ATIRI, Agricultural Technology and Information Response Initiative which was initiated by KARI. It involved community based organization and other farmers intermediaries to reach small farmers.
4. Farmers lack information about appropriate inputs to use ,how to control pests that were attacking their produce, the officers had to intervene to ensure adequate timely information to salvage the situation.
5. In the time past, the service providers were state sponsored for example through, Agricultural technology and information Response Initiative (ATIRI), National agriculture and Livestock program(NALEP) but now the private sector have been incorporated to facilitate the information dissemination.
6. State ,other private sector companies sponsor the agricultural shows that aid in promoting adoption of new technology to facilitate modern agricultural practices and training farmers in the same.
7. Encouraging farmers to embrace diversification on their production, to ensure that they get maximize in their production.
8. The state has incorporated diverse technological-oriented production to promote value addition goods produced. The genesis of this is the farm gate where farmers are advised not sell the produce in raw form but to add value on it.
9. The linkage of farmers to the market through making available the information on matters demand of the produce that is where the demand is high and low. With the Devolution this has been intensified.

CONCLUSION

From the study above, the agriculture Sector in its own, has from time to time ,due to its interest it receives from the Government has had a number of policies formulated ideally to foster its development and to ensure a thriving sector.

But just like other policies formulated for other sectors , in as much as it strives to salvage the situation , this policies have had setbacks which has seen a number of them being repealed and better ones formulated.

With the wake of the New Constitution, the sector has seen tremendous changes with even devolution system where many of the sector services where devolved and streamlined towards achievement of the Kenya’