Even as starvation, famine, and inflation ravage the East African area, the bloc continues to be hesitant to fund agriculture and has allotted the sector lower than 0.01 p.c of its budget.
In the draft budget for monetary 12 months 2022/2023, East African Community associate states allotted agriculture a paltry $6,750 (0.01 p.c) out of whole contributions of $59.3 million.
A ministerial session of the fifteenth Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Agriculture and Food Security (SCAFS) held on March 25 in Dar es Salaam, blamed this partly on reliance on donor funding.
Over the previous 5 years, growth companions have funded greater than 90 p.c of the sector’s budget.
“More than 70 percent of the industries in the region and over 65 percent of the traded commodities are agro-based. We urge partner states to increase funding for the sector,” stated Christophe Bazivamo, the EAC Deputy Secretary General – Productive and Social Sectors.
“Although the agricultural sector provides many employment opportunities, the region exports between 400,000 and 700,000 jobs every year and continues to import agricultural commodities and products such as rice and wheat which can be produced within the region,” he stated.
Mr Bazivamo stated the EAC was commited in direction of creating an enabling setting for growth of the agricultural sector, notably catalysing elevated agricultural manufacturing, and productiveness to realize diet and meals safety, enhancing performances of agricultural worth chains and agribusinesses in addition to selling regional and worldwide commerce of agricultural produce the processed agriculture commodities.
“I note with concern the EAC is not doing enough to reduce post-harvest losses, which currently stand at 61 percent as a result of lack of strategies to sustain the preservation of harvest,” stated Bazivamo.
Low funding
The agriculture assembly revealed that EAC associate states have in the previous 5 years failed to extend funding to the sector.
“The EAC partner states are yet to meet the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)/Malabo commitments as reflected in the 3rd Biennial Review Report launched in March,” stated Dr Francis Owino, Kenya’s Agriculture Principal Secretary, who chaired the EAC Agriculture sector Ministerial assembly on behalf of Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya.
The third Biennial Review Report was finalised in 2021 and submitted to the AU General Assembly in February.
The 2014 Malabo Declaration of the African Heads of State and Governments requires that the sector be funded by at the least 10 p.c of every nation’s annual budget.
For the third consecutive time, solely Rwanda with a rating of seven.43 was “on track” in the area and was ranked as the very best performing nation on the continent in assembly CAADP/Malabo commitments in opposition to 7.28 benchmark rating.
At the regional degree, Tanzania was ranked second with a rating of 6.14 adopted by Uganda (5.89); Burundi (5.63) and Kenya (5.62).
While different associate states have been thought of “progressing well”, South Sudan with a rating of two.88 was “not on track”.
However, at a median rating of 5.60, the EAC area is “progressing well” in implementing CAADP/Malabo commitments in comparison with different regional financial blocs.
Criticism from farmers
Kenya allocates lower than three p.c of its budget to agriculture, eliciting criticism from farmers.
“Funding the agriculture sector in Kenya has been a joke, all the time. If we are always talking about agriculture being the backbone of the economy, I don’t know why we should always be reminded to feed our people,” stated Kipkorir Menjo, director of Kenya Farmers Association.
“People must be food secure and it is not something we have to be reminded by donors or somebody else.”
Apart from enjoying a task in guaranteeing meals and diet safety, agriculture offers vital assist to different sectors similar to manufacturing by means of the availability of uncooked supplies.
However, the sector is going through numerous constraints similar to opposed climate circumstances; insect and crop ailments; gradual implementation of flagship tasks to assist irrigation; and gradual progress in selling worth addition.