Kenya pins hope on millet production to boost food security

NAIROBI, July 6 (Xinhua) 

 Kenya will hasten the transformation of millet value chains as part of ongoing efforts to boost food and nutrition security in the drylands, a senior government official said Thursday.

Mithika Linturi, cabinet secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that reviving millet farming has been prioritized by the government, given the crop's immense nutritional and health benefits.

Linturi made the remarks in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, during the official announcement of the India-Africa International Millet Conference slated for August in Nairobi. He said that investments in research and farmer education combined with value addition will boost millet production in the drylands that are reeling from acute food insecurity.

More than 500 delegates from Africa and Asia including policymakers, researchers, industry executives and farmer lobby groups will grace the two-day forum to explore new ways of revitalizing millet farming.

The United Nations has declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

Linturi said Kenya aims to harness recommendations from the forum to position itself as a major producer of millet for domestic consumption and export to neighboring countries. He observed that extreme weather events linked to climate change, poor agronomic practices, diseases, pests and declining soil fertility were to blame for poor millet yields.

Linturi added that by providing farmers with improved seed varieties, manure, training and market linkages, the country will gain from high millet yields.

Indian High Commissioner to Kenya Namgya Khampa said that South-South collaboration is key to promoting research and development of high-yielding millet varieties. Khampa said that as part of the International Year of Millets, India will forge a stronger partnership with Kenya and other African countries to revamp millet cultivation through research, harnessing of technologies and innovations.

Jacqueline Hughes, director-general at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), said that improved agronomic practices and inclusive value chains will ensure that African smallholder farmers derive multiple benefits from millet.

Hughes disclosed that the ICRISAT has the world's largest public sector repository of millet genetic resources to improve productivity as well as technologies to ensure the crop is resilient and profitable.