MY REMARKS DURING THE OFFICIAL CLOSING OF THE NANDI AGRICULTURAL SHOW AND TRADE FAIR ON SATURDAY, 11TH OCTOBER 2014, AT KAPSABET SHOWGROUND Cabinet Secretaries Present Hon. Members Of The Senate & National Assembly H.E The Governor Of Nandi County Dr. Cleophas Lagat Members of the County Leadership Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen It’s with great pride in this region that today and the past three days we gathered to celebrate and showcase agriculture; the bedrock of our economy for many years now. More than a century now since it was founded, the Agricultural Society of Kenya has promoted agricultural development by holding competitive shows and exhibition of livestock, agricultural and horticultural produce, economic products, implements, machinery and trade goods which in turn has advanced economic development in Kenya. The new devolved structures of government have allowed Counties to promote agriculture and other economic activities in their regions. This has induced admirable collaboration between Nandi County government and the Agricultural Society of Kenya to revive the Kapsabet trade fair that for many years had shut its doors to the people of Nandi County. I am also aware that this is the first show organized by a County Government. I therefore commend the Governor and his show committee who have tirelessly worked to resuscitate this trade fair with this years theme: Enhancing Technology in Agriculture and Industry for Food Security, Economic Growth and National Heritage which is inline with the Jubilee Manifesto and Kenya’s vision 2030. Ladies and Gentlemen Agriculture with a contribution of 25.3% has remained the greatest contributor to our 5.7% GDP growth rate in 2013. This was a substantial improvement from the 24.6% GDP contribution in 2012 and 23.8% GDP contribution in 2011. Within the Agricultural sector in the year 2013, growing of crops & horticulture and farming of animals which I know are practiced in this county in varied proportions were the greatest contributors towards making the sector the highest contributor to Kenya’s GDP. There is thus no doubt that the agricultural sector is thriving because of your contribution be it large scale or small scale. Ladies and Gentlemen As a progressive nation with the 9th largest economy in Africa, Kenya has continually taken care of its vulnerable groups including women and youth. The government has initiated sustainable programmes to enable these groups take up economic opportunities to not only advance themselves but also to progress this country. The role of Kenyan women in agriculture cannot be downplayed. Be it tilling the land, planting, weeding, fertilizer applications or harvesting, women’s efforts cannot not be ignored. It’s therefore true to say that a woman’s effort in agriculture is directly proportional to Kenya’s GDP growth, and thus empowering a woman is empowering a nation. To avert the constraint of Credit availability the government introduced agricultural credit guarantee scheme since 2012 through a partnership with four banks. The loan product, Kilimo Biashara, implemented by Equity, Family, Kenya Women finance Trust and Cooperative banks has benefited women immensely. This is further complemented by the Womens Enterprise Fund, which has continued to give affordable credit to women, many of whom are engaged in the agricultural sector. This government will continue to endow women with the necessary support in order to economically grow this nation as we strive to remain one of the leading economies in Africa. Ladies and Gentlemen Youth in Kenya have continued to disapprove their critics and engaged in the innovation that has seen them greatly improve their lot. They have organized themselves in enterprising groups, joined and reinforced Kenyan’s efforts to raise the brave torch of commercial agriculture that illuminates the future of Kenya. Throughout this nation we have been witnessing as more and more youths have taken interest in commercial agriculture and we encourage more to join. Farming is no longer the activity to avoid but the enterprise to embrace. It’s not a secret that innovations in the fields of agriculture and ICT in Kenya are spearheaded by the youth. There still exists untapped potential in these fields and those with an entrepreneurial spirit should strive to exploit. For as long as there is birth, education and opportunities; innovation will never seize. The future of this productive agricultural sector is in the youth of this country. Youth, take up these opportunities; enrich yourselves for by so doing your country is enriched. Ladies and Gentlemen More than one and a half years now since the county governments came into place agricultural activities have thrived tremendously. The counties have worked with other stakeholders to enable focused research into the best economic activities to engage in. This trade fair is one such successful initiative. Agriculture is now ready to scale to new heights in the counties. Counties should now consider not only primary production but also value addition of the agricultural produce. This will increase the revenue stream in the county and grow the economy. I am aware that Industrial crops in this county include tea, sugar cane and coffee. In the year 2013 these crops earned the County a total of about Kshs.5 billion, out of which tea fetched Kshs.4 billion, sugarcane Kshs.750 million and coffee about Kshs.200 million. I encourage farmers to put more efforts in the improvement of these crops and maximize on every opportunity provided through the County and National Governments to register improvements. We also expect Agribusiness and Agri-industries to emerge and accelerate county development. In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, I take this opportunity to express the Government’s gratitude to the Agro-Processors, Academic Institutions Research Institutions, Government Agencies, Industrial and Commercial Institutions, Farmers Organizations, International Organizations and the General Public for Participating in this trade fair. I believe the knowledge that you have gained here will be put to practice in order to cement agriculture at the very helm of advancing our economy. Ladies and Gentlemen It is now my pleasure to declare the 2014 Nandi County Show and Trade Fair officially closed. Thank you, God Bless You and God Bless Kenya
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 14:00:35 +0000
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