Kenya and Israeli governments have announced an agricultural cooperation partnership that seeks to boost food production and make Kenyan-grown agricultural produce competitive in the global market.
The agreement to leverage on Israeli’s modern technologies will lower the cost of production and bridge Israeli dwindling food production, particularly wheat, that was caused by the war in Ukraine.
Through structured private-to-private arrangements with the support and facilitation of the two governments, Israel is targeting large tracts of arable land and enter a 25-year farming deal with Kenya.
On Wednesday, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said the huge and untapped potential in the country had attracted Israeli business community who are keen to invest in Kenya.
“This is a private-to-private arrangement which will only be guaranteed by the two governments through giving necessary logistics and a conducive environment,” said Mr Mudavadi.
The revelation follows Mr Mudavadi’s video conference with Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Ditcher.
The Israeli investors are particularly interested in entering into partnerships with Kenyan farming entities involved in wheat production.
Mr Ditcher noted that Israeli farmers and firms had developed technology that would enable Kenya to achieve food production with minimal use of water and soil resources.
“The private sector investors will be allowed to invest billions in thousands of hectares and export the produce through a private arrangement in a possible 25 million (sic) deal,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
Mr Mudavadi said Kenya was keen on the investment given that it allows the country to utilise its vast tracts of idle land to produce food.
“The biggest catch for Kenyans is the thousands of jobs that would be created by the private sector once the Israeli investors come in. Kenya will also leverage on modern technologies to transform from being an importer to a net exporter,” added Mr Mudavadi.
Other than the large tracts of land, Mr Ditcher noted that the rising population is ideal and would benefit from job opportunities.
“Israel is a leader in precision agriculture that involves the use of drones, sensors and farm management software to boost farmers’ yields. We want to invest this in Kenya through our investors,” said Mr Ditcher.
In Kenya, government data indicates that the agricultural sector contributes over 33 per cent of the gross domestic product, employs 40 per cent of the population and accounts for 65 per cent of the country’s export earnings.
The meeting was also attended by Kenyan senior government officials and head of the Middle East Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs in Kenya as well as Israel Ambassador to Kenya Michael Lotem.
