Rift Valley remains a sleeping giant

By Beatrice Obwocha and Vincent Bartoo

It is home to the country’s hot tourism spots, from the Masai Mara Game Reserve famed for the wildebeest migration, to the hot springs and salty lakes dotted with flamingos.

It is also the region that boasts panoramic views formed thousands of years ago by volcanic activity and the nation’s breadbasket, producing between 17 and 25 million bags of maize annually.

But for all its scenic beauty and rich agricultural lands, Rift Valley Province is yet to give its pound of flesh to the nation’s economic basket.

As the Government struggles to feed starving millions, experts say the province has the potential to feed the country, even in times of drought.

Mr Geoffrey Nyamota, an agronomist with the Kenya Horticultural Development Programme, sums it up thus: "The climate and soils are good, there is abundant water, there is land, an airport to export the produce and a diverse market," he says.

Subsistence farming

The region produces flowers, chilli, onions, French beans, garden peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, snow peas and vegetables on a small scale.

"This region only exports two per cent of its horticultural produce. The rest (98 per cent) is for the local market whose demand outweighs supply," he says.

Peter Kibas, a professor of entrepreneurship at Kabarak University, says small-scale and subsistence farming remains the bane of the region’s productivity and should change if Rift Valley is to contribute to the country’s economy.

But away from crops lie other resources.

"Farmers can keep a few dairy cows, get milk for sale and use biogas in their homes," says Kibas, who is also the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the university,

So why isn’t the potential being exploited?

"Kenya Farmers Association and co-operative societies that helped farmers have been run down. We have the potential but little resources," he says.

The province, Kibas says, has great potential in horticulture but the same has been left to those with big tracts of land.

Then there is the dairy sector, which if well managed, according to businessman Mr Peter Njeru, would see massive production of cheese and yoghurt.

Kenya Wildlife Service Assistant Director in charge of Central Rift Ms Anne Kahihia says the untapped tourism potential is due to lack of creativity, and restricting tourists to the same circuits.

"They tour Samburu then come to Lake Nakuru, then Masai Mara. A few explore Hells Gate, Lakes Bogoria and Baringo," she says.

Cultural tourism

Kahihia says there is more to offer in sports, cultural and agri-tourism, which if exploited could also provide employment opportunities.

"The Maasai, Njemps, Pokot, Turgen and Turkana have potential for cultural tourism. We have Eldoret where world renown athletes are based and scenic safari rally routes in Elementaita and the Kerio Valley near Kamnarok and Rimoi national reserves famed for their elephants," she says. Then there is ‘research tourism’ where researchers can visit catchment areas like the Mau Complex, and Agri-tourism, which can thrive in the tea growing Kericho and Nandi areas.

Eldoret International Airport manager Peter Wafula regrets the diversion of cargo planes to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) because of lack of business in Eldoret. Most of the horticultural produce exported from the North Rift region through JKIA belong to middlemen.

Nyamota says the few farmers who have engaged in horticulture do not produce enough to export directly, leaving them little earnings as they sell their produce at prices dictated by middlemen. An example is the passion fruit, which has seen Ugandan traders flock the North Rift region.

Nyamota says semi-arid areas of the North Rift have good soils that produce high quality fruits, onions and tomatoes, but few farmers have taken advantage of rivers in the area to start irrigation projects.

Tarmac road

Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey, while on a tour of Pokot District, regretted the absence of food processing factories which has seen produce go to waste. An example is the ‘sweet mango’, which does well in Marakwet, a district that until recently had no tarmac road. The untapped potential in horticultural farming has also contributed to the flooding of imported products, some of which use ingredients from Kenyan farms.

The Kenya Federation of Agricultural Producers Chairman, Mr Musa Barno, says there is need to educate farmers on the benefits of horticultural farming.

"Horticulture is still a strange word to farmers. We need to simplify it and educate farmers otherwise they will remain stuck in the old ways of farming," he said. Wafula urges farmers to take advantage of the airport, which now has cooling facilities.

Last year, 112 metric tones of fresh vegetables and 478 tonnes of fresh fruits were exported through the airport, a capacity Wafula says can be doubled.