Kenya has embarked on an ambitious plan to mechanise agriculture in a bid to cut cost of labour and improve productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\n move, which is targeting small-scale farmers, is a joint initiative \nbetween the government of Kenya and South Korea under the Korea Africa \nFood and Agricultural corporation initiative (KAFACI) project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project is aimed at lifting the current mechanisation rate of 30 percent to at least 40 percent in he coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mechanisation remains a big challenge to farmers, especially smallholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat this initiative is looking at is to mechanise agriculture in the country by coming up with the best technology that can work for small-scale holders given that most of their farms are too small, restricting the movement of bigger machineries,\u201d says Noah Wawire, director at the Agricultural Mechanisation Research Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Wawire said they are conducting research with the Korean \nRural Development Administration, which is funding the project, to learn\n from the best practices in the Asian country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Director\n General of the Kenya Agriculture Livestock Research Organisation, Eliud\n Kireger said the cost of acquiring machine has been a major hindrance \nto small-scale farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Richard Kanui, engineering \nsecretary at the state department of agriculture, said the government \nwill open up aggregation centres for machines where farmers can lease at\n affordable rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have already identified 10 places where we are starting a pilot phase of aggregation centres where farmers can go and get the machine that they want to use and they can lease it at an affordable cost,\u201d said Mr Kanui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n