The Problems With 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.

Agriculture contributes to about 25% of Gross Domestic Product. It plays major roles such as the creation of employment, source of income for farmers, enhance food security and improve general living standards. This study aims to understand the different legislative frameworks on agriculture and how they affect agriculture and the economy. The regulating bodies that take part in ensuring appropriate policies are developed include the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services(KEPHIS), Department of the veterinary services, Plant Protection Services, Pest Control Products Board etc.

Different legislative policies have been put in place to control and monitor agriculture in Kenya. Some policies that were developed before didn’t address problems faced in the agriculture and agribusiness sector. Therefore, new ones have been formed to enable adequate coverage of the sector. These policies include:

1. National Potato Industry Policy
2. National Seed Industry Policies
3. Agricultural Sector Development Strategies (ASDS 2010-2020)
4. Pyrethrum Industry Policy & Amendment of Pyrethrum Act
5. Amendment of Coffee Act.
6. National Food & Nutrition Policy
7. Agriculture Livestock & Food Act 2013
8. Livestock Act.
9. Cotton Policy and Repeal of Cotton Industry Act Cap335
10. Fisheries Act
11. Crop Act 2013
12. Agricultural and Livestock Research Act 2013.

Policy 1: National Potato Industry Policy

The potato industry faced several challenges that the regulatory framework of the government did not address previously. There was low adoption of standardized packaging and weight for potatoes, the quality seed supply was not adequate to meet the needs of the farmers, and most farmers did not access them, leading to the mixing of varieties of potatoes that were eventually rejected for export. There was inadequate adoption of production information technology by most farmers, and minimum value addition on the potatoes was done. The high cost of farm inputs discouraged most farmers since affordable credit was inadequate.

Redress

• New regulatory policies have been developed to support the potato industry at large. These involve adopting new technologies in the production of potatoes, especially the seeds, to ensure quality in production.

The seed and Plant Varieties Act has been revised to allow private seed inspectors under KEPHIS license.

Support institutions and make regulations that will favor the production of potatoes.

• In order to increase the shelf life of the potato seed, there have been more storage facilities put at strategic locations for easy access by farmers and breeders. More land has been availed by the government to enable intensive production such as irrigating dryland.
• The restriction policy on the importation of potato tubers in the Seed Seed and Plant Varieties Act 1972, which led to poor quality seeds and preferred varieties, was revised in 2013 to allow more importation of high-quality seeds.
• Due to structural changes in the 1990s, land ownership was restricted to small sizes, but now the government has allowed most agricultural institutions to own large sizes of land to allow fast multiplication of needs such as KALRO and ADC.
• Research on potatoes has been encouraged, especially on the control and management of existing and emerging pests and diseases on potatoes. Also, an agronomic package that is on soil fertility-appropriate seed rate fertilizer that will suit production is being researched.
• Potato production is being commercialized as compared to the past, where it was done traditionally on a mall scale. Subsidized production also takes place to encourage many people to engage in production.
• There is improvement in handling of post-harvest, value addition and marketing through training youth and industry players in agribusiness and improving extension services in partnership with county government and development partners. Processors are to do contract farming to be assured of a regular and reliable supply of potatoes.

2. Livestock Act

• Livestock keeping faced a lot of challenges that were caused by legislative policies. The scrapping of export compensation pushed most leather exporters out of the market. Hence resulted in more importation of leather than exportation.
• Most farmers kept indigenous types of livestock, which led to poor breeding. There were no programs for improving the genetic composition of the breeds.
• Disease was a major challenge that was not intensively covered by the government, leading to a high mortality rate of livestock.

Redress

New policies have been developed to address the challenges in livestock keeping, which include:

• Insurance schemes have been introduced on livestock to encourage participation in livestock keeping. Also, disease zones have been created by introducing veterinary policies to reduce the death rate of livestock.
• Improving breeds and genetic programs through substitution of exotic breeds with indigenous and crossbreeding others.
• There are policies on on-farm intervention to enable the increase and availability of local feeds and agroecological conditions that suit the keeping.
• Many institutions have come up to provide services such as training, research extension and marketing of livestock and livestock products.
• Introducing disease free zones and livestock facilities to enable the country to meet international standards of export.

3. Fisheries Act

• Before there were no provisions to regulate the fishing sector, the sector was overlooked, and low public investment was done. And therefore, the aquaculture sector was over-exploited. Fishing itself became a challenge to most farmers since poor quality was exported, leading to the banning of exports from Lake Victoria to the European Union. There was less coordination and cooperation among different institutions, such as those associated with the environment, leading to pollution and mismanagement of the sector.

Redress

Draft policies have been developed to cater to the sector, which includes the following:

• There is promotion of fish quality, marketing and investment in the sector by improving infrastructure and human resource development. Cooperation and coordination of different institutions in research and provision of training and extension services to equip the fishery’s skills and knowledge on marketing and value additions are enhanced.
• Improvement of fish handling practices and packaging and introducing laboratory to test the quality of fish before they are exported.
• The government has developed facilities and infrastructure, such as cooling plants, to reduce wastage and meet the required sanitary and health standards.
• Encourage the growth of microfinance institutions to provide credit and promotion closer regional cooperation in the management and regulation of transboundary fisheries resources.

4. Development Of Sugar Policy And Amendment Of Sugar Act No. 10

The sugar sector has faced several challenges due to regulations and policies that were put in place.

• Market liberalization by the government has led to the removal of price control, which has killed the domestic producers of sugar.
• Tariffs, which were to regulate production and regulate imports, were removed. This policy became a threat to the local producers of sugar.
• Stiff competition from cheap selling markets such as COMESA and low free world market prices contributed a lot to the failure of the sugar sector.
• Other problems that faced sugar production are the low-quality seeds, high level of taxation to farmers and millers, leading to heavy tax burdens and inadequate Sugar Development Funds to finance the local producers.

Redress

• New policies encourage institutions such as the Kenya Sugar Research Foundation(KESREF) to conduct research on disease-resistant varieties and early maturing seeds to enhance faster growth.
• To reduce the tax burden, new policies have been put in place to reduce taxes and levies on sugar production.
• Introducing value addition on sugar and diversification by creating an insurance scheme in the sugar development fund.
• There is preservation of local and export preferential markets by using anti-dumping systems and safeguards.
• Many irrigation schemes have been developed to avoid depending on rain-fed sugar and also to create more space for sugar farming.
• For debt relief, some debts are written off due to the sugar development fund.

5. Agricultural Sector Development Strategies

• This sector was to ensure economy and agricultural sectors were being utilized to the maximum. There was less coordination across the ministry. And therefore new body called the Agricultural Sector Coordination Unit (ASCU) was established.
• Most agricultural institutions were failing due to mismanagement of funds by the governing bodies and a lack of support from the government.
• There is a high rate of poverty and food insecurity, which contributes greatly to economic failure and increases subsistence farming among smallholders.
• Land was not exploited fully, also marketing of produced products became a big challenge that was not fully addressed.

Redress

• There was a revival of different agricultural institutions such as Kenya Meat Commission (KMC), Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) and Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), which had a major function in training, extension services and also research.
• Promotion of the agricultural sector by encouraging commercialization rather than subsistence farming. This was to reduce food insecurity and poverty eradication.
• Value addition on the produced goods is being established to increase the price and value of exported goods to global markets to increase the level of competition. The handling losses and post-harvest losses incurred.
• Agricultural research is being undertaken by both the private and public sectors to increase productivity, proper quality and competitiveness in domestic and global markets. There is development of global information networks to improve agribusiness and market access.
• There has been the establishment of safety policies to ensure health and measures are adhered to. This involves improving the conservation and management of resources to reduce pollution, such as water.
• The taxation system has to be reviewed to reduce taxation on agricultural goods produced and sold.

6. National Seed Policy

• The seed sector had several challenges that faced it due to regulations that were put in place by the government. Seed regulation committee functions overlapped those of KEPHIS, which had a major role in regulating the seed sector.
• The policies were put in place to enhance the transformation of the seed sector and its ability to produce adequate and high-quality seeds for the farmers of Kenya.
• The previous policies restricted the National Variety Release Committee from releasing the date, but now the policy has allowed the NVRC to release the date to enable the variety owner to do a multiplication of seed variety, and those who import will have adequate time to import the variety.
• There has been a revision of the Seed and Plant Varieties Act to enable it to incorporate Plant variety protection (plant breeders’ rights).
• There has been dual participation of both the private and public sectors to harmonize regional policies to ease the cross-border trade of seeds and also enable the country to conform to international standards.
• Improved technology and infrastructure to stimulate the proper exploitation of varieties and also increase the level of agricultural productivity.
• By allowing authorization and registration of private seed inspectors and seed testing services to supplement the KEPHIS services.
• Implementing phytosanitary measures to provide rules for the prevention of the introduction of and spread of pests and diseases. This is practiced under the Noxious Weed Act Cap 325, which provides for the suppression of noxious weeds, and the Plant Protection Act.
• Maintaining and certification of high-value crops, that is, and establishment of a genetic resource center to deal with the valuation of varieties.

7. National Agriculture And Extension

• The agricultural sector has had a limited number of agricultural extension officers to equip farmers with knowledge of agriculture. Extension services play a major role in agricultural production.
• Most of the farmers depended on these officers for marketing their produce, which became a big challenge because most of the extension officers were not readily available as per demand.

Redress

• New policies of putting up E-extension services, i.e., electronic extension services, have been developed to enable farmers to easily access the services at any time.
• Most of the institutions have been supported financially, such as KARI, to ensure appropriate information has reached farmers on time.
• Extension services have a major role in ensuring that agricultural production is done appropriately to reduce food insecurity.
• It’s through the officers that the technological advancement has been appreciated by the farmers. This was practiced by ATIRI, Agricultural Technology and Information Response Initiative, which KARI formed. They used the CBOs community-based organization and other farmers intermediaries to reach small farmers. They equipped different farmers with skills on how to use new technology.
• Most farmers lacked information on the appropriate seeds, fertilizers to use and how to control pests that were attacking most of their produce; the officers had to intervene to ensure appropriate and adequate information on the same is reached to reduce poverty and increase productivity.
• Previously, the service providers were government-sponsored sponsored, such as the Agricultural Technology and Information Response Initiative (ATIRI), and National Agriculture and Livestock Program (NALEP), but now the private companies have incorporated such agrochemical industries to train farmers in appropriate ways of using their produce such as fertilizers and chemicals.
• The government and other private companies finance the agricultural shows, which is one way of promoting the use of new technology in agriculture and educating farmers on the same.
• Farmers are being encouraged to diversify their production that does not depend on one product for survival example, we have beekeeping in dry areas and are introducing improved ways of beekeeping instead of depending on sources.
• The government has introduced different technological facilities to improve the value of produced goods. The value addition starts at the farm level, where farmers are advised not to sell the produce in raw form but to add value to it. For instance, maize production value addition begins with the quality of seeds, fertilizers used and post-harvesting handling. Finally, storing it until the demand is high is another way of adding value.
• Farmers are being linked to the market through the provision of information on where the demand for their product is high and where it is low. There is devolution in agriculture; hence, agriculture is being intensified.

8. Agricultural Livestock And Research Act

This is an important activity in stimulating agriculture in Kenya. Research has several challenges as far as policies are concerned. There has been a reduction in research activities in Agriculture. Research was being emphasized on cash crops and major food crops which didn’t cater for most problems related to agriculture as a whole. Therefore farmers had insufficient knowledge regarding agriculture and extension services.

Redress

• Detailed research on input, especially for small-scale farmers, has to be done to ensure adequate information is reached. And productivity as far as poverty reduction is concerned should be researched.
• There is a policy on promoting technologies in agriculture that is being developed. This is to ensure farmers are adopting new inventions in agricultural research to ensure all efficiency in production.
• Value chain research is being strengthened to enhance quality production and also to meet international standards to attract good prices in the worldwide market.
• Promotion of market and marketing strategies such as advertising is one way of encouraging increased production and reliability in supply.

9. Cotton Policy And Repeal Of Cotton Industry Act Cap 335

• The cotton industry is one of the industries in Kenya that is dying due to mismanagement. There was a policy to do away with the cotton industry due to the liberalization of the market.
• There was a restriction on the importation of quality seeds, which led to reduced production and low-quality output. The unpredictable prices of cotton in the global market contributed greatly to the death of the industry.

Redress

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

10. Livestock And Agricultural Policy

This sector had several challenges, such as the government did not finance most of the institutions that were offering services to smallholders. The poor infrastructure contributed largely to hindering the transportation of livestock and agricultural produce. Inadequate knowledge and skills in improving productivity through access to credit and adoption of new technology was a major factor. Also marketing of produce due to liberalization led to a major challenge to most of the farmers.

Redress

• There is a need to increase food sufficiency by encouraging farmers to produce what is adequate for consumption and selling the surplus. This is done by commercializing agriculture by offering credit to farmers to enable them to improve agriculture.
• There are new policies introduced to protect the consumer’s and producers’ rights, such as property rights, to protect them against exploitation. Stakeholders’ participation in agriculture has increased, and it is being encouraged to ensure a high rate of productivity in livestock and agriculture.
• To improve health problems for livestock consumers, new safety net policies have come up by regulatory firms such as KEBS and Health and Safety Standards. This has reduced problems concerning consuming harmful meat and products.
• Intensive agricultural training and extensive services have been developed to ensure adequate and appropriate information has reached farmers. The women and youths are encouraged to access credit and land since they play a major role in production.
• Standardization and weighing of agricultural produce have been introduced to avoid farmers being exploited.

11. Crop Act

• Poor quality of the seeds, lack of incentives to support both cash and food crops and farmers’ rights were not taken into consideration. Low demand for the produce due to poor marketing strategies. Strict land use policies that hinder extensive use of land have contributed largely to the low production of crops.
• There is more subsistence farming than commercial farming among most of the smallholders in Kenya. Less emphasis has been put on ensuring crop production is commercialized to reduce food insecurity and increase income.

Redress

• There has been increased quality of seeds through importation and value addition to ensure quantity and quality production. Introduction of hybrid seeds by Ariga and Jayne (2011).
• Also, Genetically Modified Organisms have been introduced to reduce food insecurity. This was made success by supporting the research institutions such as KALRO to ensure information has reached all farmers in adopting the new technology.
• Creating a market for the local crops produced through creating agro-food industries that depend on locally produced raw materials. Also, cultivated land has been increased through the introduction of irrigation schemes.
• Provision of credit to farmers in order to increase produce. Crop Act in Section 8 and Section 10 lays out support but only for scheduled crops, while Section 9 provides for commodity funds, which would support farmers with affordable credit and advances to farmers to buy inputs.
• Section 12 of the AFFA Act empowers AFFA to support farmers of scheduled crops with affordable inputs and credit.
• Section 4b of the Crop Act requires that land be used in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.
• Crop varieties will be matched with conditions by the provision of section 8i, which empowers AFFA to develop crop varieties that match the agro-climatic condition of the area.
• The seeds and Varieties Act provides for a process in 15 and 16 that may include an assessment of risk and performance of seeds of any plant, including imports and approval process.

Conclusion

Policies pose a great challenge to agriculture, and therefore, keen attention has to be given when developing them so as to improve the sector. If the government does not pay much attention, most sectors of agriculture will fail. An example is the sugar and fisheries sectors.