Kenya to Allow Commercial Farmers to Lease Idle Government Land

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya, where agriculture contributes a third of gross domestic product, will allow commercial farmers to lease idle government land as the state tries to improve food security.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation will publish the terms that will allow farmers to plant on idle government as it seeks to maximize use in a country where only 20 percent to the land mass is arable, Deputy President William Ruto said Friday at the launch of the 2018-22 medium-term plan, in the capital, Nairobi. Agriculture employs more than 70 percent of the country’s workforce.

“My government will bring targeted taxation to encourage Kenyans to put idle land to use and implement the Agricultural Mechanisation Program by supporting counties to provide affordable agricultural mechanization services,” Ruto said. The state will also redesign subsidies to improve food yields and improve production quality, he said.

Source: Bloomberg Business News