(Ecofin Agency) - The Kenyan government announced an investment of KSh52.8 billion (about $495.3 million) to boost the agriculture sector during the 2020-21 financial year starting July. The amount is 11% less than the KSh59.1 billion invested in the sector a year ago.

The resources will be directed in irrigation programs, the purchase of inputs, and the promotion of good agricultural practices. This amount represents only 1.8% of total public expenditure, well below the 10% commitment made in Maputo in July 2003. And observers claim that this package is insufficient, considering the needs of the agricultural sector, whose main segment, horticulture, is suffering from the full impact of the coronavirus crisis with losses in export earnings. Also, the sector has to cope with the ravages of locusts, which threaten the harvest of staple foods and weaken the country's food situation.

As a reminder, the agricultural sector accounts for 33% of GDP and employs more than 40% of the population. The Kenyan government last met the Maputo Declaration target in the 2011/2012 fiscal year.

Espoir Olodo