Vision 2030 so far has been the property of all manner of stake holders,political pundits,skeptics,government officials,the Executive but not the Kenyan youth in schools who are the ones who are set to benefit the most from this vision as well as turn it into reality.
As a country are supposed to have achieved all the Millennium Development goals by 2015 before we can talk about 2030,these goals include,eliminating extreme hunger and poverty,achieved universal primary education for all,reduction in child mortality,improved maternal health,achieved environmental sustainability,achieved better partnerships with international development agencies and reduced incidences of HIV/AIDS and other major diseases.
Now those look easy compared to the ones vision 2030 aspires to,right?
We are yet to eliminate hunger,seeing that we had a major funds drive Kenyans4Kenya to feed fellow Kenyans that was mostly driven by the Kenyan public and the private sector.Every now and then most of us have read about one woman or several who have lost their lives during child birth,NEMA(National Environmental Management Authority) busy haranguing public service vehicles to provide wastebaskets while real estate developers are busy satisfying Kenyans appetite for living in suburbia by constructing gated communities in areas previously classified as wetlands.
A lot of the time many of the things that are important like asking ourselves how we will achieve vison 2030 when the MDG goals have proved elusive are not discussed.
The vision 2030 is based on three pillars,economic,social and political;an economic growth of 10% over the remaining 18 years,in a just and cohesive society enjoying equitable social development in a clean and secure environment and ensuring our politics is issue based,people centred,result oriented,accountable and democratic.
Young Kenyans today aged about 12 years will be 30 years of age by the time this vision is achieved,which only makes sense that they should be made aware of what this country hopes to be by the time they are adults.This will help them bring the dreams of their fathers and grand fathers(the drafters of vison 2030) into fruition.
A country's future is vested in its children and if we aren't asking our young ones to be part of this vision or even involving them into the walk towards a better Kenya, i am sorry to say we aren't going anywhere.
We need to hear Vision 2030 being preached to young Kenyans in our high schools and our universities.
These young people need to start being made part of the development of this country.Otherwise all we are going to see is them having dreams of immigrating to other countries because theirs (Kenya ) is in shambles.
Apart form those of us who have been privileged to get a look at the document,or maybe attended the workshops or think tanks that have been organized on this dream of a middle income economy of the future,how many school heads know what Vision 2030 is all about?
Has these grand march to "freedom" been made part of the school curriculum?have changes been made to the education sector to factor in the fact that in 18 years the world will be a lot more different from what it is today?
We just need to remember the destruction that was wrecked by young people in London to see what idle energy and no sense of purpose and belonging can do.
And back home,if we remember the crowd that was at Uhuru park for the Kenyans4 Kenya concert,it was made up mostly of young people.
What better example or evidence for hope can there be than this?young Kenyans are changing our country left,right,centre,Generation Y is the answer to how fast or slow vision 2030 will see the light of day.
We need to hear it being taught in our classrooms from Mbale in the western part of the country to Balich village in Garissa.Young people need to hear about the visions of a better Kenya so that the they grow up knowing exactly what is the dreams of their fathers were.Only in this way will we be able to get rid of the demons of tribalism,nepotism and corruption that stalk our daily lives.
Showing posts with label vision 2030. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vision 2030. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
VISION 2030 AND DANCING ANGELS ON PIN HEADS
How many angels can dance on a pin head......?
Can you see angels?
Can it be proved they exist ?
The question of how many of these "beings" can dance on a pin head originated in medieval times and was often times used as a metaphor for debates that usually ended up nowhere or had no clear answers.
And that to me is how the debate on who the most popular presidential candidate is to me.
Already it seems we have almost if not more than 20 presidential candidates all seemingly offering miracle cures of the Loliondo kind for what ails this country.
Am beginning to ask myself whether we aren't being hoodwinked with the popularity contests instead of focusing on the key issues.
Like my pet subject, Vision 2030.
A lot of the time the politicking going on about issues is done devoid of the grand plan for Kenya that was funded by tax payers money.
Politicians and Kenyans too ,forget that what oils the cogs of government is tax payers money,hell even the coffee and sandwiches members enjoyed when they sat till 12.00 am to pass the pending bills was funded by tax payers.
So why aren't we asking what these presidential wannabe's are going to do for our beautiful country.
Why are we wasting time discussing polls,tribal alliances and whom we are going to fix next.
Because we are so caught up in non issues we have lost focus of the three key pillars(economic,social and political)that Vision 2030 rests on.
Take the economy for example which at the moment we cant do much about...However, we can be vigilante and show collective displeasure for kleptomaniacs who are hell bent on leaving treasury dry with their pilfering.
We can be responsible citizens by asking for more transparency in the way CDF(constituency development funds) monies are spent,in the way the CDF boards are constituted,such that an MP does not use it to reward cronies.
On the social front ,do all Kenyans feel safe and secure ,of course not! and this is largely due to the social inequalities that exist and also the high rate of unemployment among the youth.
This has resulted in them being the perpetrators of social crimes like theft,burglary,hijackings and all manner of social evils.
But something can be done here,like government creating an enabling environment for the private sector to run business that can soak up the large numbers of unemployed youth.Removing most of the bottle necks and bureaucracy when it comes to investors setting up business here would be a great boost to the economy.Rwanda has already made quantum leaps in this direction and is now number one among the East African countries when it comes to attracting investments,it takes only a day to register a business there.
And what about our politics.....
We need to strengthen our parties,too bad that the amendment by a section of parliamentarians to have party hopping safeguarded even a few days in the lead up to the general elections will do nothing but slow down reform in the political front.
Party hopping a quintessential Kenyan habit especially when it comes to politicians will be with us till another generation sees what lack of national values and political ideology can do.
In part Vision 2030 foresees this on the matter of politics as a pillar towards vision 2030 "...Kenyans shall formulate and adopt a set of national values,goals and a political ideology supportive of Vision 2030.Among the key guiding principles for this third pillar of the grand march to a middle income economy are :constitutional supremacy,sovereignty of the people,equality of the citizens,national values goals and ideology,visible political party system,public participation in governance,separation of powers and decentralisation.
All of the above make sense and if implemented would see us achieve political maturity as a country sooner than later. But after the recent happenings in parliament left me wondering if we weren't getting ourselves into a fix by going against the very same plan against which our Vision 2030 is going to be propped on.
Pray,how does allowing party hopping and whimsical change of parties days to general elections strengthen or even promote ideology?
Guess this Vision will need another generation before it sees the light of day and that is why i posited in an earlier post that this change we need will have to start in our schools,among young Kenyans or else we will be discussing ethereal beings and their ability to dance or lack thereof on pin heads for a long long time.
Can you see angels?
Can it be proved they exist ?
The question of how many of these "beings" can dance on a pin head originated in medieval times and was often times used as a metaphor for debates that usually ended up nowhere or had no clear answers.
And that to me is how the debate on who the most popular presidential candidate is to me.
Already it seems we have almost if not more than 20 presidential candidates all seemingly offering miracle cures of the Loliondo kind for what ails this country.
Am beginning to ask myself whether we aren't being hoodwinked with the popularity contests instead of focusing on the key issues.
Like my pet subject, Vision 2030.
A lot of the time the politicking going on about issues is done devoid of the grand plan for Kenya that was funded by tax payers money.
Politicians and Kenyans too ,forget that what oils the cogs of government is tax payers money,hell even the coffee and sandwiches members enjoyed when they sat till 12.00 am to pass the pending bills was funded by tax payers.
So why aren't we asking what these presidential wannabe's are going to do for our beautiful country.
Why are we wasting time discussing polls,tribal alliances and whom we are going to fix next.
Because we are so caught up in non issues we have lost focus of the three key pillars(economic,social and political)that Vision 2030 rests on.
Take the economy for example which at the moment we cant do much about...However, we can be vigilante and show collective displeasure for kleptomaniacs who are hell bent on leaving treasury dry with their pilfering.
We can be responsible citizens by asking for more transparency in the way CDF(constituency development funds) monies are spent,in the way the CDF boards are constituted,such that an MP does not use it to reward cronies.
On the social front ,do all Kenyans feel safe and secure ,of course not! and this is largely due to the social inequalities that exist and also the high rate of unemployment among the youth.
This has resulted in them being the perpetrators of social crimes like theft,burglary,hijackings and all manner of social evils.
But something can be done here,like government creating an enabling environment for the private sector to run business that can soak up the large numbers of unemployed youth.Removing most of the bottle necks and bureaucracy when it comes to investors setting up business here would be a great boost to the economy.Rwanda has already made quantum leaps in this direction and is now number one among the East African countries when it comes to attracting investments,it takes only a day to register a business there.
And what about our politics.....
We need to strengthen our parties,too bad that the amendment by a section of parliamentarians to have party hopping safeguarded even a few days in the lead up to the general elections will do nothing but slow down reform in the political front.
Party hopping a quintessential Kenyan habit especially when it comes to politicians will be with us till another generation sees what lack of national values and political ideology can do.
In part Vision 2030 foresees this on the matter of politics as a pillar towards vision 2030 "...Kenyans shall formulate and adopt a set of national values,goals and a political ideology supportive of Vision 2030.Among the key guiding principles for this third pillar of the grand march to a middle income economy are :constitutional supremacy,sovereignty of the people,equality of the citizens,national values goals and ideology,visible political party system,public participation in governance,separation of powers and decentralisation.
All of the above make sense and if implemented would see us achieve political maturity as a country sooner than later. But after the recent happenings in parliament left me wondering if we weren't getting ourselves into a fix by going against the very same plan against which our Vision 2030 is going to be propped on.
Pray,how does allowing party hopping and whimsical change of parties days to general elections strengthen or even promote ideology?
Guess this Vision will need another generation before it sees the light of day and that is why i posited in an earlier post that this change we need will have to start in our schools,among young Kenyans or else we will be discussing ethereal beings and their ability to dance or lack thereof on pin heads for a long long time.
Friday, August 19, 2011
DISCOVERING CARL SAGAN:WHY EVERY (SCIENCE) TEACHER NEEDS TO READ THIS GREAT MAN
Carl Sagan was a man famous for many things and especially for de- mystifyng science for ordinary Americans,sadly he died 15 years ago and today as i read his book The Demon Haunted World I wish I had met him but more than that ,that science teachers in Kenya would get the book and read it cover to cover as i did.Sagan sets out to portray Science in an easy to know way without sounding pompous and his reverence for the universe (he was a Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences)jumps at you with every word in this book and with each turn of the page.
Written largely for an American audience it does have much to offer for Kenyan audiences too because much of what he discusses we can relate too,from aliens ,to pseudo-science to miracles and even hallucinations.He urges his fellow scientists to "communicate the substance and approach of science in newspapers,magazines,on radio and television,in lectures for the general public,and in elementary,middle,and high school text books."
As i was reading the book, which is a must have in my opinion for the curious ,i was reminded oftwo things ,no its four things that have hit our local headlines and that would be made clearer if Kenyan scientists took time to explain things to the general public.One of them is the afforestation programmes going on in the Mau Forest and other water catchment areas,the increasing Kenyan population,the proposal to start nuclear power generation and the GMO debate.
Much of the debates that have occurred in the public sector have been based on superstition,ignorance and myths.Take the example of GMO that is sensitive very sensitive here because it deals with a national delicacy ugali(stiff mixture of corn meal taken with vegetables/meat stew).Even scientists who should know better discouraged it on the basis that it was an untested technology and that we were being used as guinea pigs by companies.We forget that maize seed has seen changes made to its genetic make-up to yield more and withstand disease.
Or the Mau Forest where a certain MP whom i would not name was telling his constituents not to move from the areas of the forest they had encroached because there was no way trees could attract rainfall.Yet if you drive along the Nairobi Kericho ,you get a clear view of the heavy grey clouds always hovering over the trees.Ready to pour down ,nourish the trees and provide water for the people down stream and feed the many rivers,lakes that rely on this water catchment.
All of these areas i have highlighted would benefit from a demystification approach without scientists being too patronizing to the listening public.We would all benefit from knowing exactly what it is we are dealing with and the after effects of whatever cause of action we take.Then science would cease being a reserve for the "nerds" but would become the marvel that it is.
In primary school i remember my fascination with the human body and with space,i would read over and over again about leukocytes(white blood cells) and (erythrocytes (red blood cells)blood plasma,how the heart and kidneys worked .My dad and i would even spend some nights outside star gazing,it was wonderful and thrilling !But in high school everything changed,i could never get my head around physics and chemistry was a struggle yet i remained fascinated with biology and would pore over my textbooks and notes especially when it came to the topic on genetics.Somehow my curiosity waned and i never understood why.
Probably it was the way it was taught or i was too afraid of asking dumb questions,something Sagan says he saw in high school kids too, the fear to ask and dumb .He said that his most enthusiastic audiences were elementary school kids who never got tired of asking questions and Sagan talks about "provocative and insightful questions bubbling out of them.".But he reports his disappointment with high school students ,who had learnt to "memorize facts" and the "joy of discovery had gone out of them."
Could we as a country learn something from the mind of this great man who never lost his wonder and curiosity about science?With a vision towards seeing Kenya being an industrialized country by the year 20303,is there more we could add to the present curriculum to motivate students to take up more science subjects.We need to have more students taking up these courses in our universities and we need to have more Kenyan Professors who are passing on this love of science to the next generation.How many of them go to high schools to pass on this wonder for the natural world to students,most forays in career fairs are by accountants or even lawyers but rarely do scientists venture out from their laboratories.Who knows the next cure for cancer,AIDS could come from among these young ones.With climate change slowing affecting seasons we need more studies done on the effects this will have on our environment,land use and disease and science will have the answer to that.
Hopefully the recent back and forth that has been going on among stake holders in the educational system as to the review of the 8-4-4 system of education and the way this knowledge is passed on to students will be reviewed so that we do not cede the natural curiosity and need to know we had as children.This innate "need to know" and "stretching of our minds" is something we as a humans have and must use in order to survive in a world that is changing pretty fast.
I will end this with a beautiful article by Carl Sagan's wife published in the Skeptical Inquirer in his memory....
Written largely for an American audience it does have much to offer for Kenyan audiences too because much of what he discusses we can relate too,from aliens ,to pseudo-science to miracles and even hallucinations.He urges his fellow scientists to "communicate the substance and approach of science in newspapers,magazines,on radio and television,in lectures for the general public,and in elementary,middle,and high school text books."
As i was reading the book, which is a must have in my opinion for the curious ,i was reminded of
Much of the debates that have occurred in the public sector have been based on superstition,ignorance and myths.Take the example of GMO that is sensitive very sensitive here because it deals with a national delicacy ugali(stiff mixture of corn meal taken with vegetables/meat stew).Even scientists who should know better discouraged it on the basis that it was an untested technology and that we were being used as guinea pigs by companies.We forget that maize seed has seen changes made to its genetic make-up to yield more and withstand disease.
Or the Mau Forest where a certain MP whom i would not name was telling his constituents not to move from the areas of the forest they had encroached because there was no way trees could attract rainfall.Yet if you drive along the Nairobi Kericho ,you get a clear view of the heavy grey clouds always hovering over the trees.Ready to pour down ,nourish the trees and provide water for the people down stream and feed the many rivers,lakes that rely on this water catchment.
All of these areas i have highlighted would benefit from a demystification approach without scientists being too patronizing to the listening public.We would all benefit from knowing exactly what it is we are dealing with and the after effects of whatever cause of action we take.Then science would cease being a reserve for the "nerds" but would become the marvel that it is.
In primary school i remember my fascination with the human body and with space,i would read over and over again about leukocytes(white blood cells) and (erythrocytes (red blood cells)blood plasma,how the heart and kidneys worked .My dad and i would even spend some nights outside star gazing,it was wonderful and thrilling !But in high school everything changed,i could never get my head around physics and chemistry was a struggle yet i remained fascinated with biology and would pore over my textbooks and notes especially when it came to the topic on genetics.Somehow my curiosity waned and i never understood why.
Probably it was the way it was taught or i was too afraid of asking dumb questions,something Sagan says he saw in high school kids too, the fear to ask and dumb .He said that his most enthusiastic audiences were elementary school kids who never got tired of asking questions and Sagan talks about "provocative and insightful questions bubbling out of them.".But he reports his disappointment with high school students ,who had learnt to "memorize facts" and the "joy of discovery had gone out of them."
Hopefully the recent back and forth that has been going on among stake holders in the educational system as to the review of the 8-4-4 system of education and the way this knowledge is passed on to students will be reviewed so that we do not cede the natural curiosity and need to know we had as children.This innate "need to know" and "stretching of our minds" is something we as a humans have and must use in order to survive in a world that is changing pretty fast.
I will end this with a beautiful article by Carl Sagan's wife published in the Skeptical Inquirer in his memory....
Thursday, August 11, 2011
WHERE ARE KENYAN URBAN PLANNERS?
Kenya's cities and towns seem to have no forethought put into them when it comes to their growth whatsoever and we can blame this on our lack of urban planners whose job it would be to make decisions on how our cities and towns should develop.Of course each administrative council in the country be it ,a town council,municipal council has a department of urban planning but it is questionable if their advice is even sought if the rate at which thoughtless developments are taking place is anything to go by.
In an earlier blog post here in April of this year i had lamented the fact that the real estate industry was threatening the very livelihood of our country by encroaching on agricultural land .Housing estates are coming up left ,right,centre in every major town in the country,the situation is especially sad in Nakuru because people are selling off rich agricultural land .In areas that should be the source of food and livelihoods,people are looking for the quick shilling to be made by subdividing the land and selling it off to Kenyans who have suddenly got a voracious appetite to be home owners.Sad indeed....
If we indeed do have urban planners in some of these towns am sure they should be at the fore front of managing the now free for all real estate industry that is slowly becoming a cash cow for the well heeled in terms of money.Land has always and will always remain an emotive issue but i think prioritizing our needs and wants should be key.Would you rather live in an Italian marble palace or go to bed with a full stomach.These are some of the questions we should be asking our selves.
Our cities and towns are growing daily with malls,office blocks and all manner of structures being put up daily,but how many of these have been well thought out ideas that take into consideration the growth of these towns and cities in the future.We are seeing most of these towns turning into concrete jungles with no thought given to recreation facilities like parks or even public utilities.
What is interesting to note is that for our cities and towns to grow we need to think not of today but 50 years ahead.In 2070,where will the residents of Nairobi be living,getting their water from,will there be enough electricity,sewage lines to cater for the cities population or will the city be another spot in the annals of history that was obliterated by a lack of planning.
Take the case of Nakuru that is said to be one of the fastest growing towns,how will the town;s growing population affect the environment around the lake,the deforestation in the Mau Forest that is threatening the very existence of Lake Nakuru,is there worse to come if we do not mange the way this town is growing?
These and many other questions can be replicated in the planning of the towns we envision to have by 2030 and that i think should be what urban planners (if we have any) should be asking themselves and advising the county governments set to come in after the general elections next year.
In an earlier blog post here in April of this year i had lamented the fact that the real estate industry was threatening the very livelihood of our country by encroaching on agricultural land .Housing estates are coming up left ,right,centre in every major town in the country,the situation is especially sad in Nakuru because people are selling off rich agricultural land .In areas that should be the source of food and livelihoods,people are looking for the quick shilling to be made by subdividing the land and selling it off to Kenyans who have suddenly got a voracious appetite to be home owners.Sad indeed....
If we indeed do have urban planners in some of these towns am sure they should be at the fore front of managing the now free for all real estate industry that is slowly becoming a cash cow for the well heeled in terms of money.Land has always and will always remain an emotive issue but i think prioritizing our needs and wants should be key.Would you rather live in an Italian marble palace or go to bed with a full stomach.These are some of the questions we should be asking our selves.
Our cities and towns are growing daily with malls,office blocks and all manner of structures being put up daily,but how many of these have been well thought out ideas that take into consideration the growth of these towns and cities in the future.We are seeing most of these towns turning into concrete jungles with no thought given to recreation facilities like parks or even public utilities.
What is interesting to note is that for our cities and towns to grow we need to think not of today but 50 years ahead.In 2070,where will the residents of Nairobi be living,getting their water from,will there be enough electricity,sewage lines to cater for the cities population or will the city be another spot in the annals of history that was obliterated by a lack of planning.
Take the case of Nakuru that is said to be one of the fastest growing towns,how will the town;s growing population affect the environment around the lake,the deforestation in the Mau Forest that is threatening the very existence of Lake Nakuru,is there worse to come if we do not mange the way this town is growing?
These and many other questions can be replicated in the planning of the towns we envision to have by 2030 and that i think should be what urban planners (if we have any) should be asking themselves and advising the county governments set to come in after the general elections next year.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
NAKURU:Reaching for the Stars
I have watched Nakuru town grow from the dusty little town it was seven years ago,where shops closed by 7.30 pm to the bustling town it is right now,labelled among the fastest growing town in Africa.Then people hardly ever came to Nakuru except if it was to watch the Nakuru sevens tournaments or visit the Lake national Park.Nakuru to me is home,having fallen in love with this little town more than a decade ago it has become like a little sibling that i have watched grow from infancy and it is bursting with potential.
As things stand right now everyone wants a slice of this little town that sits smack in the middle of the Rift Valley tourism circuit.Banks have already made their presence felt and Kenyatta Avenue the main street is literally overflowing with these financial institutions.High rise buildings are present whichever way we look with their gleaming glassy fronts and security guards in their spanking brand new uniforms can be seen at nearly all entrances to these new edifices making up part of the emerging Nakuru skyline.
It also seems that Kenyan corporates and the non governmental organisations have also got tired of holding workshops and conferences in the capital city and are now trooping to Nakuru where the towns hotel's are working overtime to accommodate the sudden influx of conference attendants trooping to the town.A report of the sudden increase in conference tourism can be read here.
With all these happening in the town we need to ask ourselves how the local leaders and Nakuru residents are readying themselves for what is easily going to be one of the busiest counties in the country.Too often we have heard of the rising cases of insecurity with everything from muggings,to hijackings to murders taking place.For Nakuru to cash in on the goodwill it is receiving from investors,the local administration and security network needs to spruce up the image of the town and beef up security.
For investors security is like breathing air,businesses only flourish in safe havens.It does no good for businesses to be worrying about getting robbed or the increasing cost of ensuring their investments are secure when they are doing business.It is hoped the security apparatus in the county are watching things keenly and putting measures in place to ensure security is beefed up.
The hotel industry in the town also needs to spruce up their establishments for the growing number of local and foreign tourists who are coming to savour what the town has to offer.We also have to see the towns officials also have to come up with incentives that will attract more investors interested in the growing populace who call Nkauru home and investors who are finding what the town has to offer very attractive.Only in this way will Nakuru reap from all the goodwill it is generating from the people who have seen its potential for growth and have invested in it.
I wish I had the job of marketing this now bustling metropolis ,the peole charged with this are not yet doing enough for this little gem of the Rift Valley.We seem to have forgotten our administrative units are now counties and we need to market them as much as we can so that we see the benefits of the much touted devolution.
As things stand right now everyone wants a slice of this little town that sits smack in the middle of the Rift Valley tourism circuit.Banks have already made their presence felt and Kenyatta Avenue the main street is literally overflowing with these financial institutions.High rise buildings are present whichever way we look with their gleaming glassy fronts and security guards in their spanking brand new uniforms can be seen at nearly all entrances to these new edifices making up part of the emerging Nakuru skyline.
It also seems that Kenyan corporates and the non governmental organisations have also got tired of holding workshops and conferences in the capital city and are now trooping to Nakuru where the towns hotel's are working overtime to accommodate the sudden influx of conference attendants trooping to the town.A report of the sudden increase in conference tourism can be read here.
With all these happening in the town we need to ask ourselves how the local leaders and Nakuru residents are readying themselves for what is easily going to be one of the busiest counties in the country.Too often we have heard of the rising cases of insecurity with everything from muggings,to hijackings to murders taking place.For Nakuru to cash in on the goodwill it is receiving from investors,the local administration and security network needs to spruce up the image of the town and beef up security.
For investors security is like breathing air,businesses only flourish in safe havens.It does no good for businesses to be worrying about getting robbed or the increasing cost of ensuring their investments are secure when they are doing business.It is hoped the security apparatus in the county are watching things keenly and putting measures in place to ensure security is beefed up.
The hotel industry in the town also needs to spruce up their establishments for the growing number of local and foreign tourists who are coming to savour what the town has to offer.We also have to see the towns officials also have to come up with incentives that will attract more investors interested in the growing populace who call Nkauru home and investors who are finding what the town has to offer very attractive.Only in this way will Nakuru reap from all the goodwill it is generating from the people who have seen its potential for growth and have invested in it.
I wish I had the job of marketing this now bustling metropolis ,the peole charged with this are not yet doing enough for this little gem of the Rift Valley.We seem to have forgotten our administrative units are now counties and we need to market them as much as we can so that we see the benefits of the much touted devolution.
Monday, July 18, 2011
AND THEN GOD CREATED FARMERS.......
After God and mothers,farmers have to be the most important people on this planet, without whom we would not be alive today.Am sure all the politicians,philosophers,religious leaders,musicians and plastic surgeons must be disappointed to think that we cannot live without them but it is true.Farmers provide the food ( fuel) that we use to run our frail human bodies and without which like all living things we would die
Agriculture has played a very important role in the development of human civilization as we know it today when man was able to domesticate plants and animals..This is especially so when you think about the Agrarian revolution that was responsible for much of the human settlements that have contibuted today to civilization.The US,Canada,France,Australia and Spain rank among the countries that export the most agricultural produce in the world,a map showing the top 10 countries can be found here.These countries are also among the most developed which goes to show feeding yourself as a country and developemtn goes hand in hand.
Human beings can survive without mobile phones,ipods and ipads,cars,clothes and beer but no one can do without food and we owe the lives we have to the tenacity of farmers and their belief that feeding the human race is a noble thing to do.That is why farmers the world over are renowned for being early risers before the crack of dawn to ensure that the billions who populate the earth are fed.
As Eastern Africa faces the worst drought and famine in decades,we have put out our begging bowls and we are waiting for the west to come and fill them up with food to feed our starving children yet we have done little to improve the conditions of our farmers or make their work easier.Farmers are the last people government would think of consulting when they ordered for the GMO maize to stem the deficit that has seen the price of a 2kg packet of maize flour triple in the last 12 months.Being a Kenyan and having lived in a farming community for a while i have seen the grunt work that goes towards making sure that the you get the packet of milk that makes part of your morning tea ,it takes a lot of work and dedication,visits from the veterinarian officer,and a lot of money sunk into a project which lives on faith and hope.Farmers are never guaranteed that the hard work they put in will be rewarded,the rains may fail,livestock may get sick or the price of seeds and fertilizer may sky rocket.
Last year when we saw a bumper harvest especially in the Rift Valley region that is considered Kenya's grain basket,the government must have been asleep because a lot of maize went to waste as farmers had their granaries full and there was no storage place for the surplus.Seeing that we have never put up any grain storage facilities since independence yet we are growing at the rate of one million every year the national silos were full and there is never any place we can store surplus.Fast forward 12 months later and we are in a crisis ,the country has no maize reserves and we have to look for the precious grain elsewhere.Our fondness for ugali (a dough like mixture of water and maize meal/cornflour) can only be rivalled by our love for tea and it is disconcerting that many Kenyan household have been forced to forgo this delicacy and have to resort to alternatives that are easier on the pocket but certainly not as filling.
As much as our country seeks to be a middle income economy by the year 2030 and continues to shout from the rooftops that it is ready for investment ,can it feed itself?Farming has always been shunned because it does not carry the prestige of a blue collar or white collar job that entails sittng in an office and drinking copious amounts of coffee and samosas without any thought as to how they landed on your desk.Our farmers are the most important resource we have.We cannot boast of being a regional super power when our farmers cannot afford a bag of fertilizer that goes for kshs 1500($20).
What is even more saddening is that government seems to be blind to the encroachment of fertile agricultural land that is being turned into real estate.I had written an article about that here and the country also lacks policies that could govern land use and ensure that we safeguard agricultural land.It seems we are more concerned with living in palatial homes complete with Italian marble rather than in feeding our children.
How many Kenyans know that April 17th is International Farmers day,we know of a Father's day,Mothers day heck we even celebrate Halloween but you will not catch a Kenyan celebrating farmers day,hell would soon freeze over before we do that.We need to start appreciating these men and women and even children who put the food we enjoy at our dinner tables.The government needs to make life easier for the Kenyan farmer.There are some insurance companies like APA that are providing farmers with insurance cover but more needs to be done.We need to ensure our farmers are able to transport their produce to the markets by having better roads and improving our rail transport.We need to invest time and money in ensuring that our farmers get access to information that will see them employ the best farming practices to ensure they get good yields from their crops and livestock.
I am yet to hear any of the presidential candidates talk about how they are going to tackle the perennial grain shortage in the country,how they will improve the condition of the Kenyan farmer or even what policies they are going to put in place to ensure that the Kenyan farmers life is made just a little bit easier.
We need to hear how the next government is going to tackle the never ending cycle of begging for food aid every year.It is a shame that a country such as ours so richly blessed with agricultural land is unable to feed itself ,yet countries like Israel and Egypt which are less endowed are not only able to feed their people but export food to other countries.How many times have we heard of the government investing in agriculture except when it is to subsidize fertilizer?
We need the next cabinet secretary in charge of the ministry of agriculture to be passionate about feeding Kenyans.We need a Joseph to save us from the looming famine that is staring us in the face every year,we need a visionary man or woman who is going to drive this sector of the economy forward.
If you ask any Kenyan school going children if they ever want to be a farmer,none of them dare answer in the affirmative.Everyone wants to be in IT,own a business and drive a flashy car without getting their hands dirty.Yet we fail to ask ourselves what we will be eating in the comfort of our air conditioned offices,busy with making our country the next big thing in the business process outsourcing industry .Will we be exporting our food?
Granted there are a few brave Kenyans who have ventured into agriculture as a side hustle while they maintain regular jobs in the urban centres but this is not enough to be able to feed the growing population of Kenyans.
A country that cannot feed itself is a shame to the rest of the world,a country that cannot support its farmers is like a man who forgets his mother in the village when he gets to the big city.Yes it is true next to mothers ,farmers come a close second.
Agriculture has played a very important role in the development of human civilization as we know it today when man was able to domesticate plants and animals..This is especially so when you think about the Agrarian revolution that was responsible for much of the human settlements that have contibuted today to civilization.The US,Canada,France,Australia and Spain rank among the countries that export the most agricultural produce in the world,a map showing the top 10 countries can be found here.These countries are also among the most developed which goes to show feeding yourself as a country and developemtn goes hand in hand.
Human beings can survive without mobile phones,ipods and ipads,cars,clothes and beer but no one can do without food and we owe the lives we have to the tenacity of farmers and their belief that feeding the human race is a noble thing to do.That is why farmers the world over are renowned for being early risers before the crack of dawn to ensure that the billions who populate the earth are fed.
As Eastern Africa faces the worst drought and famine in decades,we have put out our begging bowls and we are waiting for the west to come and fill them up with food to feed our starving children yet we have done little to improve the conditions of our farmers or make their work easier.Farmers are the last people government would think of consulting when they ordered for the GMO maize to stem the deficit that has seen the price of a 2kg packet of maize flour triple in the last 12 months.Being a Kenyan and having lived in a farming community for a while i have seen the grunt work that goes towards making sure that the you get the packet of milk that makes part of your morning tea ,it takes a lot of work and dedication,visits from the veterinarian officer,and a lot of money sunk into a project which lives on faith and hope.Farmers are never guaranteed that the hard work they put in will be rewarded,the rains may fail,livestock may get sick or the price of seeds and fertilizer may sky rocket.
Last year when we saw a bumper harvest especially in the Rift Valley region that is considered Kenya's grain basket,the government must have been asleep because a lot of maize went to waste as farmers had their granaries full and there was no storage place for the surplus.Seeing that we have never put up any grain storage facilities since independence yet we are growing at the rate of one million every year the national silos were full and there is never any place we can store surplus.Fast forward 12 months later and we are in a crisis ,the country has no maize reserves and we have to look for the precious grain elsewhere.Our fondness for ugali (a dough like mixture of water and maize meal/cornflour) can only be rivalled by our love for tea and it is disconcerting that many Kenyan household have been forced to forgo this delicacy and have to resort to alternatives that are easier on the pocket but certainly not as filling.
As much as our country seeks to be a middle income economy by the year 2030 and continues to shout from the rooftops that it is ready for investment ,can it feed itself?Farming has always been shunned because it does not carry the prestige of a blue collar or white collar job that entails sittng in an office and drinking copious amounts of coffee and samosas without any thought as to how they landed on your desk.Our farmers are the most important resource we have.We cannot boast of being a regional super power when our farmers cannot afford a bag of fertilizer that goes for kshs 1500($20).
What is even more saddening is that government seems to be blind to the encroachment of fertile agricultural land that is being turned into real estate.I had written an article about that here and the country also lacks policies that could govern land use and ensure that we safeguard agricultural land.It seems we are more concerned with living in palatial homes complete with Italian marble rather than in feeding our children.
How many Kenyans know that April 17th is International Farmers day,we know of a Father's day,Mothers day heck we even celebrate Halloween but you will not catch a Kenyan celebrating farmers day,hell would soon freeze over before we do that.We need to start appreciating these men and women and even children who put the food we enjoy at our dinner tables.The government needs to make life easier for the Kenyan farmer.There are some insurance companies like APA that are providing farmers with insurance cover but more needs to be done.We need to ensure our farmers are able to transport their produce to the markets by having better roads and improving our rail transport.We need to invest time and money in ensuring that our farmers get access to information that will see them employ the best farming practices to ensure they get good yields from their crops and livestock.
I am yet to hear any of the presidential candidates talk about how they are going to tackle the perennial grain shortage in the country,how they will improve the condition of the Kenyan farmer or even what policies they are going to put in place to ensure that the Kenyan farmers life is made just a little bit easier.
We need to hear how the next government is going to tackle the never ending cycle of begging for food aid every year.It is a shame that a country such as ours so richly blessed with agricultural land is unable to feed itself ,yet countries like Israel and Egypt which are less endowed are not only able to feed their people but export food to other countries.How many times have we heard of the government investing in agriculture except when it is to subsidize fertilizer?
We need the next cabinet secretary in charge of the ministry of agriculture to be passionate about feeding Kenyans.We need a Joseph to save us from the looming famine that is staring us in the face every year,we need a visionary man or woman who is going to drive this sector of the economy forward.
If you ask any Kenyan school going children if they ever want to be a farmer,none of them dare answer in the affirmative.Everyone wants to be in IT,own a business and drive a flashy car without getting their hands dirty.Yet we fail to ask ourselves what we will be eating in the comfort of our air conditioned offices,busy with making our country the next big thing in the business process outsourcing industry .Will we be exporting our food?
Granted there are a few brave Kenyans who have ventured into agriculture as a side hustle while they maintain regular jobs in the urban centres but this is not enough to be able to feed the growing population of Kenyans.
A country that cannot feed itself is a shame to the rest of the world,a country that cannot support its farmers is like a man who forgets his mother in the village when he gets to the big city.Yes it is true next to mothers ,farmers come a close second.
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