Kenyan farmers eye share of India’s Sh400b for African grain purchases

NAIROBI: Kenyan farmers are expected to benefit from Sh400 billion the Indian government has set aside in its annual budget to import grain legumes from Africa this year.

India plans to spend the money on importing four million metric tonnes of grain from the continent.

India Deputy High Commissioner to Kenya Sushil Singhal confirmed India is looking to import the legumes from Kenya among other African countries. He was speaking during the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) 2015 members luncheon in Nairobi.

Kenya’s production of grain legumes stands at 0.76 million metric tonnes per year, making it the fourth-largest producer in Africa — after Nigeria, Tanzania and Ethiopia — and 17th in the world.

“Based on our demographic factor, which forms a huge consumption market, we are determined to import from Kenyan farmers as well as other African countries,” said Mr Singhal.

“We request the Kenyan Government to continue supporting grain farmers so that they can produce more and thus increase their market share as well as boost their financial base.”

TRADE COMPLIANCE

India, with a population of 1.3 billion, is the world’s leading producer of pulses at 18 million metric tonnes per year, which is almost 24 times Kenya’s output.

India’s production represents 30 per cent of the total global supply of 62 million metric tonnes, which is estimated at Sh100 billion.

Grain legumes includes chickpeas, pigeon peas, lentils, black and green grams, grass peas and cowpeas.

The ambassador said his government was willing to partner with would-be exporters to set up processing zones where such pulses would be processed to enhance quality inspection and trade requirement compliance ahead of exportation.

“The proposed plan to set up processing units for export of pulses to India and other markets, and facilitating availability of know-how and technology for processing and standards compliance for East African producers would go long way towards promoting value addition and export,” Singhal said.

During the luncheon, EAGC Chairman Otim Bernard promised the council would mobilise and facilitate smallholder farmers’ production and aggregate the pulses.

Smallholder farmers from Embu, Kitui and Makueni counties dominate local pulses supply, followed by those from western and southern Nyanza regions.

“Pulses are popular in marginal areas because most mature in less than 90 days, and require less water than most other grains. Market players refer to them as low-volume, high-value commodities,” said Dr Otim.

To illustrate the potential Kenyan farmers have to profit from India’s growing population, Otim added: “By 2025, India would require 29.43 million metric tonnes of pulses, which would require bringing additional millions of hectares of land under pulses cultivation, and improving yields from the present 700 kilogrammes per hectare to 1.3 tonnes; a formidable task given the competition for land usage.”