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Kenya shops for $4.2b for agriculture, infrastructure

Kenya has reported that it needed more than $4.2 billion to resuscitate agricultural sector and finance infrastructure projects.

The country requires a staggering $2.2 billion to resuscitate the agricultural sector from its current decay and ensure the country becomes a key regional food producer.

It needed another $2 billion to finance infrastructure projects, such as roads in areas with high agricultural potential to ensure that produce reached markets.

The enormous financial requirements form the bedrock of a new agricultural sector revival master plan that Kenya has developed.

“The strategy is based on the belief that the food security requires a vibrant, commercial and modern agricultural sector that supports Kenya’s economic development sustainably and its commitments to regional and global growth,” says the Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy.

Kenya has a new agricultural master plan even as numerous other blueprints are gathering dust in government shelves while the ambitious Galana-Kulalu irrigation project, intended to be a model in irrigation-drive agriculture has collapsed after gulping about $100 million.

According to the Economic Survey 2018, Kenya’s food import bill declined in 2018 to $1.7 billion due to favourable weather conditions from a record high of $2.3 billion in 2017.