The Ministry of Agriculture says investors interested in idle government land to carry out large-scale commercial farming must show their financial muscle.
This comes after the Cabinet last month approved a policy that seeks to provide a framework for the utilization of idle land owned by State institutions for large-scale commercial agricultural production.
Agriculture PS Harry Kimtai said a committee tasked to come up with the leasing framework will demand proof of involvement in major investment activities as a requirement to be allocated dormant land under the program.
“We are not going to discriminate on individuals who want to invest in these lands, however, the person has to show us proof of being an investor as well as having a certain amount of money to lease the farm,” said Kimtai as quoted by Nation.
The PS said the requirement is meant to prevent a situation where an individual or company bids for a lease and then fails to utilize the allocated land.
Under the program, thousands of acres of public land will be leased to private investors for food and cash crop production that relies less on rain-fed agriculture in favor of irrigation.
Idle government land in counties such as Isiolo, Samburu, Mandera, Turkana and Wajir will also be allocated to private investors to specifically grow pasture for livestock to avert animal deaths during dry season.
“We want to bring in people who can use this land for the production of pasture so that the pastoralists will not have to move to other regions such as Ethiopia and Uganda in search of fodder,” PS Kimtai added.
Finally, commonsense is…
Finally, commonsense is trickling in. And this should extend to Taita Taveta region especially Taveta where there are two freah water lakes challa & jipe qnd fresh waters of mzima springs, yet majority of the locals rely on ‘rain’ for subsistence farming. There is a lot of idle arable land that no one knows who the owner is. Also parts of national parks should be annexed for farming and leave just enough space for the animals. Park tours are no longer amenable amid starvation qnd lack of farming land.
You cannot annex park land -…
You cannot annex park land – it is not just about tourism but environmental and ecosystem balance. Wild life serves a purpose in preventing forest fires and degradation of land by agriculture and swampy areas serve as the “sieve” and rainfall patterns and prevents floods. There is enough land without annexing parks which are not just for tourism.
Kimatai should have first…
Kimatai should have first explained how Raila grabbed Dominion farms from investor Burgess.How secure will other peoples’ investments have given that there are too many Raila-type gangsters around?Raila-sponsored,Al Shabaab killers will take over those investments in Eastern Kenya.Others will be grabbed by gangsters led by thugs Ngina & Uhuru.
All idle government land…
All idle government land should be gazetted to avoid land grabbing. “Wealthy investors” may include those with a history of land grabbing since independence. Better yet, the locals should be involved not some dude sitting his behind in NRB.
Thanks be to God Ruto is no…
Thanks be to God Ruto is no longer the agriculture CS. I can see a scenario where potential foreign investors would be required to give him 10% of the total lease amount upfront as consultation fees before the deal is sealed. Then again, there are many Rutos in most government offices.
Very hard to evict/remove …
Very hard to evict/remove “anyone” once they occupy a property more so govt land. Land grabbing by any other name, our country is going to h3ll and on the fast lane.
Land grab legalized
Land grab legalized
I smell a rat y’all!!! why…
I smell a rat y’all!!! why wealthy people??
We need to take advantage of…
We need to take advantage of this opportunity with lightning speed to fill the void that was left by Ukraine & Russia. Plant as much wheat as possible and sell to North Africa countries and middle east.
@Kenya. You said it.There is…
@Kenya. You said it.There is a food shortage in the world right now.We should look to fill some of this food supply gap in the world right now.
If you plant wheat today in…
If you plant wheat today in 3 months it will be ready to be harvested. It is not rocket science. Africa need to get up from the deep sleep.
The government should 1st…
The government should 1st lower the cost of production esp the farm inputs, reasonable market price for produce, Provide incentives and insurance coverage to the farmers…
Nothing like govt land. It’s…
Nothing like govt land. It’s ppls land. Govt owns nothing and can’t exist without blood and sweat of humans.
Dominion is owned by siaya…
Dominion is owned by siaya county.
prove it. Show facts.
prove it. Show facts.