AGRIBUSINESS

Agribusiness is a combination of agriculture and business, where the farmers take part in selling their excess produce from their farms. The Kenyan government has kept encouraging its citizens to make use of their lands by the application of irrigation mechanisms or depend on the rain to grow different crops either subsistence or cash crops in order to sustain their lives. Agriculture plays a vital role in the rural economy as it the major source of income; contributing two percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Studies show that 70% of the population of Kenya is in rural areas and agriculture has employed 40% of the population living in rural areas.

In the whole country, agriculture takes the lead in income generation and provision of employment opportunities to Kenyan citizens. The counties depending on irrigation schemes such as Wajir are developing step by step as agribusiness not only leads to food security but also generation of income that helps them improve their lives. Therefore, this assists to afford the basic needs.

During the COVID 19 period, the sector that was not affected and rather served a very key role was the agribusiness. During and after the curfew and lockdown, those people supplying agriculture produce were not limited. They kept on supplying their products locally and also to different counties. The agribusiness played a key and significant role in ensuring that Kenyans did not face hunger during the pandemic.
The Kenyan government should keep on improving the agriculture sector by creating awareness on the goodness of agriculture and making use of the land, providing modernized farming mechanisms and also standardizing the food prices in Kenya. Lastly, it should promote the local farmers rather than encouraging the importation of food from other countries.