This document discusses commercializing agriculture in Kenya. It notes that Kenya's agricultural sector currently has issues with food security, poverty, employment, and trade. The sector's potential is not being fully realized due to factors like poor policies, land fragmentation, lack of coordination, underinvestment, and population pressure. The document advocates analyzing agricultural value chains to identify opportunities to boost productivity and incomes. It also stresses the importance of social inclusion and providing opportunities for youth engagement along value chains to drive commercialization and transformation of the sector.

1. Commercializing Kenyan Agriculture
and Finding Opportunities for Youth
Engagement along Agricultural Value
Chain Development
SIANI NAIROBI, ICRAF
14.11.2018
Stephen Vundi Mungula

2. Introduction
• What is the current status of the agricultural sector in
Kenya?
• Why is the sector the way it is?
• How can stakeholders harness the sector’s potential and
remove obstacles to commercialization?
About SIANI Kenya Chapter Expert Group ‘’Commercializing Kenyan
Agriculture’’
Objectives of the group

3. WHAT IS THE SITUATION?
Food & Nutrition Security
Food self-sufficiency ratio is at 75%
Food poor population high at about
60%. At any time, 3-5 million people
are at risk and 4 M at crisis during
drought.
Low food diversity 19% (2.3 out of
12)
Stunting 26% under 5 years
Poverty Alleviation
Rural poverty has stubbornly
refused to decline (49.1%),
ASDSP figures on income show
that on-farm incomes are low at
37 KES/capital per day and
majority SH farming HHs less
than 200/day
Employment
Quality of employment for rural
population
Foreign Exchange Earnings
Both imports and exports have
grown steadily over the years.
But the coverage ratio
continues to be negative.

4. WHY IS THE SITUATION SO?
Policy and institutional failure( not supporting transformation)
Agricultural land fragmentation
Lack of structured Inter-sector and intra-sector cooperation and coordination
Inadequate resource allocation
On average 3-4% of national budget, 3-12% by county governments
Only a mere 4-5% of total credit from formal banks goes to agric.(KBA).
Inappropriate investments (political priorities over economic efficiencies)
Population pressure
Knowledge (R&D)
Only sector where majority of actors are not qualified
Knowledge transfer
Evidence based planning

5. How do we harness sectors potential
Have we been
moving forward?
Need for change of
business as usual
strategies?

6. Commercialization and Value Chain Analysis
 Define commercialization = Productivity and Income
 Productivity = Value Chain Analysis
Definition ; made of primary activities and support activities.
Concept ; separates useful activities (competitive advantage) from the wasteful activities.
Income = Poverty line, KES 200 per day per household member
Income = (a*b*C.O.P*e*365)/d
C.O.P = Cost of Production
Productivity
(Yield/Unit)
(a)
Price (b) Net Income per
production (c)
Household
Size (d)
Area under
production
(e)
Net Income
per capita
 Climate Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices and technologies

7. Social Inclusion and Youth
Social inclusion refers to removal of institutional barriers and
incentives to increase the access of individuals and groups to
development opportunities.
Key agricultural issues of importance to youth = Market access,
finance, mechanization and ICT
 Youth-led projects and ideas need to be acknowledged and be given
space
WHO?, HOW?

8. Conclusion and Way Forward
 Support evidence based decision making and policy development
 Need to encourage the sector actors and particularly development
programmes to factor in a mentorship support facility to youth
 Need for deeper understanding of commercialization and sharing of
this to stakeholders