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World Bank’s injection of $450 million (Sh70.2 billion) into Kenya in support of reforms in agriculture has started bearing fruit, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi said yesterday.

The Minister said Kenya’s agricultural landscape is undergoing transformation, fuelled by strategic investments from the Bretton Woods institution.

With a substantial investment Linturi said World Bank has spearheaded initiatives such as the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NAGRIP) and the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) which he said are reshaping the sector’s dynamics and sustainability.

“This means there has been 100 per cent absorption from our end. This has been possible because of the collaboration we have had between the Ministry of Agriculture, CoG (Council of Governors) and the World Bank,” Linturi stated.

“It is also important to mention that out of these projects, we have been able to touch the lives of 1.5 million farmers directly,” he explained. Linturi made the remarks while addressing the Joint Review Meeting for the County Executive Committee members (CECMs) from across the country at a Mombasa hotel.

Additionally, he said the World Bank has committed another $450 million in new projects to support food and nutritional security in the country, noting that the government’s next phase targets involvement of beyond five million farmers “through these projects.”

However, amidst the triumphs, challenges persist with the Principal Secretary Paul Rono acknowledging hurdles encountered in farmer registration and distribution logistics.

“We have had a challenge on registration of farmers. Some farmers complain that they have received less than they requested. However, the distribution is done based on the data on the register,” he said.
Some farmers, Rono disclosed gave wrong information because they thought it would be used by the Kenya Revenue Authority.

“The governors should help us identify stores to help resolve the issue of distance between farmers and the distribution point as there are concerns that the points are very far,” he said. The PS also asked governors to cut on wastages and ensure that Kenyans feel the impact of the projects being funded.

“Stop a lot of capacity building and purchasing of big vehicles. Let a large chunk of money be felt by Kenyans,” Rono said.

Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka, who is the Chair of the Agriculture, Livestock, and Cooperative Committee in the Council of Governors, said projects sponsored by the World Bank have happened in 45 counties across the republic.

“I can attest that there is a lot of transformation out of the projects. The World Bank team was in Bungoma recently to monitor and agreed that there is a lot of transformation and we are looking forward to further collaborations,” he said.

“I just want to ask other ministries to collaborate with county governments the way the Ministry of Agriculture has done because there are no national county citizens and national government citizens,” Lusaka added.

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, who is the Vice Chair of CoG commended the World Bank projects but said it is imperative that county governments increase their funding towards agriculture, noting that 80 percent of the Agriculture funding comes from the World Bank which is unsustainable.