The historic era of Covid-19 prevalence has delivered unprecedent tough stretches with a myriad of tribulations, among them joblessness and food insecurity. These are tough times full of limbo for many, whether in business or in employment. As has been witnessed, this pandemic has brought along an economic meltdown even as governments and allied players try to cushion their citizens against looming crises.
There are no tougher times to endure, noticing that the world is also bedeviled by other calamities like climate change and accidents or natural calamities like the recent misfortune that struck Beirut, Lebanon. All this underpinning notwithstanding, life has to soldier on and the need to survive is paramount.
To combat the issue of food insecurity, this present generation ought to revisit the fundamental adage of agriculture being the back-bone of the economy. Succinctly speaking, in recent times agriculture has been relegated to being a suggestion that it is for the low-income earners in the country particularly the elderly generation in the rural areas. Most of these people, paradoxically, are only engaging in subsistence farming thus their power to provide agriculture sustainability are minimal.
The Coronavirus pandemic has however proved the need to come up with a new dimension because millions of Kenyans now rely on agricultural yields for their survival. Being a devolved government function, citizens today have their focus on county governments to promote the sector by introducing modern agricultural technologies in farm inputs, nurturing of crops and animals to harvesting, value addition and consumption; In other words, from farm to fork. This is even as other non-state actors, like agriculture-based organisations, work in supplementing government efforts.
The recently rolled-out AgriBiz programme by European Union, Danida and KCIC that has admitted 200 youth and women in agribusiness with an aim to providing them with technical and financial support so that they can create decent jobs in agricultural value chains in Kenya needs to be replicated across the country if agriculture is to regain its esteemed position.
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To edify a resilient, food secure and sustainable future, Kenyans need to engage in sustainable agricultural practices. This means fulfilling the present needs for agricultural produce without compromising the capacity of the future to meet its demand for food. This also means more involvement by more people in agriculture, the art and science of crops and animals production, while at the same time taking care of the environment and focusing on continuous improvement.
Agriculture needs to metamorphosize from being a preserve of the elderly especially in the rural areas and adopt a holistic approach encompassing youth and urban centers. Other measures include organic farming, food waste management, agroforestry, sustainable postharvest management practices and other modern technologies including precision agriculture, integrated pest management, conservation tillage and zero-emissions agritransport.
With a programme such as AgriBiz, direct marketing of yields, agritourism, nutrition and food systems education and sustainable use of water and energy are likely to be more prevalent. In summary, there are limitless opportunities in sustainable agriculture, not just as a form of employment, but also as an assurance of food security and a sustainable future.
A redacted version of this article was first published in The Standard Newspaper in Kenya by Solomon
