Kenya mulls climate-smart agriculture strategy

Kenya plans to put in place a Climate Smart Agriculture Strategy to improve food security, officials said on Thursday.

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe told an agricultural forum in Nairobi that climate change is affecting farm productivity especially among small-scale farmers.

"Once in place, the strategy will help agricultural producers better adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change so as to enhance the country's food security," Lesiyampe said during the official opening of the 3rd Regional Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes stakeholders' conference.

The event brought over 100 participants from the East Africa region to review ways on promoting effective coordination in agricultural research.

Stakeholders are currently developing the Climate Smart Agriculture Strategy, which should be in place in mid-2017. The strategy is anchored on the climate change policy of 2015.

The ministry said one of the ways identified to assist farmers overcome the negative effects of climate change is through irrigation.

"We want to gradually phase out rain-fed agriculture because its increases the country's vulnerability to climate change," Lesiyampe said. Government data indicates that less than 5 percent of Kenya's arable land is irrigated.

"Our target is that we irrigate all land under cultivation so that agriculture is not affected by erratic rainfall patterns," he said.

Lesiyampe said Kenya emits a minimal amount of greenhouse gas that has been blamed for causing climate change. "However, the country has bore the brunt of the negative effects of climate change," he said.

The government will also encourage farmers to practice agro forestry on their land. Other climate-smart measures include increasing the use of drought-resistant seeds. Endit