Why next revolution belongs to Mama Mboga

Former Africa Development Bank (AfDB) president Donald Kaberuka once remarked that Africa should decisively ‘farm and trade’ its way out of poverty. Addressing a global meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund delegates at Suntec Centre in Singapore way back, Mr Kaberuka was outraged by the continent’s silly reliance on aid.

As a cub reporter covering the meeting, I appreciated the former bank chief’s brutal honesty. In my view, he was godsend because he confronted the painful truth of our dependency syndrome.

Indeed, most of Africa’s problems are self-inflicted and a direct consequence of our own outmoded mindset. Add these to corruption and political impunity, and you appreciate the mess.

If we’re to bloom this century, we must deliberately make trade and agriculture the catchwords. This is why it was refreshing this week to see Nairobi County host several events that underlined the clamour for agricultural innovation and robust disaster preparedness.

First, Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa addressed the nation on Wednesday over the looming October-December rains, and the government’s mapping of 18 counties as potential El Niño hotspots.

For farmers already keeping a nervous eye on the skies, the announcement was hardly a footnote. Weather is a big variable in production, and any disruption can have consequences far beyond the farm gate. Some Sh2 billion has been set aside to cushion the Livestock sector from effects of the looming rains.

The same week, the sixth Agriculture Summit was held in Nairobi. Convened by the Agriculture Sector Network and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the forum ran alongside a food technology expo graced by policymakers, farmers and investors across the agricultural value chain.

Then there was the launch of Plantos Verde into the local market. This is a mineral bio-stimulant designed to improve the efficiency of crops growth and, ultimately, raise agricultural productivity in ways that conserve the environment and lessen climate change.

According to Agrimedic East Africa chairman Ian Amani, Plantos Verde underwent rigorous efficacy trials with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro), whose Kabete Research Institute offered expertise and access to demonstration and testing sites.

That wasn’t all. Within the same week, Kevian Farms founder Kimani Rugendo, who chairs the National Potato Council, exuded confidence that it was ‘all systems go’ as Kenya hosts the 13th World Potato Congress in Naivasha next month. It will be the first time the event is held in sub-Saharan Africa.

The overall message from these key events was clear. If agriculture is to drive our ‘Singapore’ transformation, we must move beyond subsistence and embrace technology, innovation and research towards commercially viable farming. And in all these, our Mama Mboga should sit at the table. Such kind of open forums are a catalyst for local agriculture. We need more!

Also, as the 2027 campaign begins, we must move from treating agriculture as a slogan to making it a revolution. KNBS says Kenya’s food self-sufficiency ratio fell from 105.6 per cent in 2024 to 99.7 per cent last year. To bridge the gap, we must remember Mr Kaberuka’s question: How does Africa produce more, trade more and become less dependent on the generosity or conditionality of others?

Farmers need markets, affordable inputs, value addition and finance while the national and county governments must reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks. The media, too, must move beyond reporting droughts and politics and tell the bigger agricultural story. Good agricultural journalism should make farming aspirational and worthy of everyone’s attention.

Perhaps the Agriculture Media Network chaired by Mr Gathenya Njaramba should rally local news channels to highlight powerful stories that will attract the youth into farming. Admittedly, we’ve failed to persuade the under 35’s, who make 78.3 per cent of the population, to take up agricultural enterprises.

What’s more, our rural areas where 87 per cent of poor households reside, are sleeping giants. The answer must begin where our transformation is waiting to happen. That’s on the farm. Mama Mboga must thus ‘revolt’ against old ways to give room for a sustainable agricultural order.

-The writer is a communications practitioner.