Farmers from as far as the whole country have been urged to restart their focus from the classic ways of crop production to agribusiness and the use of the value chain as a sure way to secure the food systems of the country besides unlocking economic opportunities.
During the 18th Agri-Business Trade Fair hosted by the University of Eldoret, value addition enjoyed massive support from leaders, innovators, and policy implementers as the food security issue in Kenya was discussed.
On the second day of the fair, a sensitization master class on agro-preneurship and climate-smart agriculture attracted the attendance of hundreds of farmers.
More than 60 exhibitors presented a variety of innovations from post-harvest handling to cold storage solutions and digital farming tools, all geared toward helping farmers decrease losses and unlock profitable value chains.
The speakers, through their stirring speeches, touched on how the acts of processing, packaging, and use of modern storage will not only help to minimize food wastage but will also open up various economic opportunities for the rural communities.
Among others, the fair also threw light on the looming need for climate resilience in agriculture whereby the various stakeholders demanded that the government increase its support in dealing with the challenges being posed by erratic weather patterns.
Climate-smart agriculture was among the ideas of the future that farmers had to be quickly willing to adopt so as to be productive in such a changing climate scenario.
The University of Eldoret was complimented for its groundbreaking role in facilitating the reformation of agriculture sector through research, training and community engagement. The working group participants noted that academic institutions are indeed the places where the theory meets the practice and the farmer is provided with the necessary tools and skills to cope with the contemporary challenges.
The organizers hailed the trade fair as one of the turning points in the Kenyan agricultural history, where the emphasis on value addition and adoption of innovations of climate-smart nature were considered as the two main ways of achieving food security and rural economic empowerment in Kenya.