The Kenyan Regulations of agricultural markets have been ranked last by a research that was carried out by the word Bank.
It appears that Kenyan farmers engaging into agribusiness face very tough measures in producing, marketing and exporting their agricultural products. Kenya took the last position due to its regulation that exporters have to pay for an annual fee, which in turn tends to raise prices if Kenyan products in the global market.
This in turn greatly turns back and affects the country in terms of competition as it becomes a challenge for Kenyan Products to compete with other products in the global market due to the high prices.
These registrations are normally done at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority, thus making it hard for giving room for outside investor who may be interested in carrying business in the country. Kenya got 50.5 per cent in the ranking process, which is said to be lower that the required global average.
Another challenge that most Kenyan farmers engaging in the agribusiness sector tend to face is that of brokers. These are people who use farmers in the name of getting them markets for their products, only to have a share of the little profits that they get. This leads to the farmers experiencing losses in the process if selling their products.
Farmers struggle too much when selling their products in the local markets as some of the markets are inaccessible as one is needed to pay the brokers for them to get access to the markets. This act led to the development of private development firms, which try to use online platforms to connect farmers with interested buyers.
Among the requirements that the World Bank report urged Kenya to adopt included use of ICT and the government adopting the use of warehouse receipts to unlock cash for farmers
Kenya largely depends on agriculture as it is the backbone of the country, especially through exports. Almost a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product is contributed by the agricultural sector.
Article by Vera Shawiza.