Abstract:
Is Africa capable of feeding itself given the alarming performance and projections shared by international organizations on poverty and food insecurity prevalence in the continent? What seems to be holding back agricultural production in most African countries? This research has sought to answer these questions and has identified that the Agriculture sector will spearhead this transformation since the economic development of most African states is driven by the growth of the sector. Twenty-three percent of the GDP generated in Africa South of the Sahara is generated from agriculture, and mainly contributed by smallholder farmers who constitute more than 60 percent of its population. While for Kenya, 51 percent of its GDP is contributed by the Agriculture sector and generated by 76 percent of rural cm20holder farmers whose livelihood is dependent on the sector. African states have realized the importance of the sector and have committed to spend 10 percent of their respective budget expenditures in agriculture so as to ensure an annual GDP growth of 6 percent as proposed in NEPAD's CAADP policy framework. The research noted that in accordance to the proposed targets in the CAADP framework, the GDP growth of the Agriculture sector in Kenya has not observed uniformity in achieving the 6 percent GDP growth rate in the sector as intended. To determine the underlying cause of its performance this research therefore, focused on determining the actual investments in agricultural production, value addition and institutional arrangements in the sector. Kenya's performance on these three issues is evaluated against the CAADP Results Framework (2015 to 2025), and their impact on food insecurity prevalence has also been assessed. This research also noted that investments are pivotal to agricultural production and economic development of African countries and its citizenry. Hence proposes enhanced investments in the Agriculture sector to ensure value addition in agricultural production and enable the continent to attain its full potential.
