Insufficient Rains Results to Poor Performance in Agricultural in 2016

By Amina Faki

Agriculture remains the backbone of the Kenyan economy and is the single most important sector in the overall economy.

Over 80 percent of the Kenyan population live in the rural areas and derive their livelihood directly and indirectly from agriculture. Given its importance, the performance of the sector is therefore reflected in the performance of the whole economy. The development of agriculture is also important for poverty reduction since most of the vulnerable groups like pastoralists, the landless, and subsistence farmers, also depend on agriculture as their main source of livelihoods

The importance of the sector in the economy is reflected in the relationship between its performance and that of the key indicators like GDP and employment.

According to a recent report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics growth in agriculture value added decelerated from a revised 7.2 percent in 2015 to 4.4 percent in 2016 occasioned by insufficient rains during the short rains period.

Production for all basic commodities decreased in 2016 compared to the previous year; maize production decreases mainly due to lower volumes of rainfall, the high cost of farm inputs and the residual effects of Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MLND). On the other hand, the production of beans decreased by 4.7 percent from 8.5 million bags in 2015 to 8.1 million bags in 2016.

Declining performance of the sector in terms of its growth has been one of the major concerns facing policy makers and those having interests in the sector.

Droughts have increased in frequency and intensity in the last year, resulting in high crop failure and livestock deaths.

Over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture, therefore, can be seen as one of the major causes of food insecurity

Despite its declining performance, agriculture has continued to support the livelihoods of over two-thirds of the labor force.