President William Ruto’s Madaraka Day speech on Thursday focused on agriculture, the impact of climate change in Kenya, and the Hustlers Fund.
The government has laid out a five-point recovery plan aimed at eradicating hunger and transforming the agriculture sector through increased productivity.
Kenya is facing a severe food shortage as a result of a prolonged drought and low rainfall, according to the president.
“The country’s situation is deplorable, and we have a severe food shortage as a result of a prolonged drought in Kenya and the larger Horn of Africa region, the worst in nearly a half-century, with three years of failed rain,” Ruto said.
Among the five mitigation measures that his administration hopes to implement are measures to address a prolonged fertiliser shortage and high prices. However, the National Government has already begun to address this issue by distributing 1.4 million fertiliser bags to farmers.
“We’ve also made plans to make another six million bags of various types of fertilizer available for the long rainy season,” the President said.
Other short-term measures to end hunger and reliance on rain-fed agriculture include increasing agriculture productivity by giving farmers access to quality inputs like seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides, as well as a plan to manufacture fertilizer in collaboration with East African Community (EAC) countries.
Ruto, on the other hand, believes that irrigation is the ultimate solution to the country’s food security. He stated that plans are in the works to double the amount of land under irrigation to 1.4 million acres over the next three years.
According to the President, 200,000 acres will be irrigated for rice, and 500,000 acres will be irrigated for other food crops.
The government also claims to have begun measures to address the high cost of feed, milk storage and preservation, and market access.
“We have taken immediate steps to restart the stalled milk coolers program, and distribution of 650 milk coolers will begin soon.” We identified dairy and livestock economies as sub-sectors with the quickest economic turnaround time in our plan, and they will become key drivers.
Effects of Climate Change
In terms of climate change, President Ruto stated that Kenya must increase its tree and forest cover to more than 30% by 2032 as part of national efforts to mitigate the negative effects of climate change.
In this regard, he has directed the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to hire 2,700 forest rangers and 600 forest officers to guard water towers and combat encroachment.
Kenya currently has 12.13 percent tree cover (2% more than its minimum target of 10% tree cover for 2022) and 8.83 percent forest cover.
Ruto also stated that he will appoint the Climate Change Council, which will be in charge of steering Kenya’s climate action through stakeholder engagements coordinated by the presidency.
“The program also responds to Kenya’s commitments in various multilateral environmental agreements to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.” “At next month’s UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, Kenya will rally the world to more ambitious climate action,” said Ruto.
Hustlers Fund
On December 1, 2022, President Ruto will formally launch the Hustlers Fund credit and savings product, which will enable borrowers to access credit for both short and long-term functions.
“All borrowers on this platform will also be enrolled in a short-term savings plan as well as a long-term pensions program.” Every savings made by borrowers on this platform will be matched 2:1 by the Kenyan government to a level determined by the program.”
