Give farmers firm, not bitter, policy roots

The reports that Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) had run out of potatoes for making chips sounded like a dry joke. It soon turned out to be worse than that.

The head of the American fast-food company with a presence in more than 100 countries explained they import potatoes to comply with quality standards, hence the shortage in Kenya.

Coming when the crop is abundant in the country, the case generated a fierce public debate. And the debate it is continuing, as this write-up can show. But we need to have key deliverables from all this. In the midst of the anger and debate, several policy issues came up that should not be lost in the heat.

First, the marketing of agricultural produce in the country. A review of the performance of the agricultural sector reveals that over the years farmers have complained of lack of market access for their produce.

Once they harvest, they do not have sufficient information and outlets to sell, leading to some crops rotting or selling them for a song to middlemen. This tragedy bedevils the entire sector, not just the potato space.

The second issue is value addition. It is accepted that the trade relationship between farming- rich countries like Kenya and developed countries is skewed in favour of the latter.

As a young man, I discussed policy around the trade relations between Africa and the European Union under the Cotonou Partnership Agreement.

Then, African countries were accused of exporting raw agricultural produce that fetch low prices and importing machinery. Little has changed.

Calls were made for value addition so that as opposed to exporting coffee bean, it is processed before shipping.

The KFC story raises the question of whether we have addressed value addition as a country.

Competitive production

The third issue is the whole debate of buying local. The government has been advocating for buying Kenyan products so as to build the economy.

Therefore, when it was confirmed that KFC was importing its potato for chips, there was a legitimate outcry.

In the midst of that complaint, however, was the larger policy issue of what could be put in place to deal with this problem.

The uproar about the action by KFC is justifiable but not necessarily the solution.

There is general public sentiment that it is wrong for a multinational to ignore local produce and import what is locally available.

Policymaking in the agricultural sector must focus on making local produce competitive. This must address pricing, consistent availability and quality.

On pricing, we have to ask what support the government is giving farmers, either in terms of cost of inputs or other production expenses to ensure the growers can sell competitively against the imports.

Safety, standards

On quality, safety and standards were raised by KFC. It is not rocket science to meet quality standards. However, it requires work and regulatory and policy support to be achieved and nurtured.

In the past, we have had a robust agricultural extension service to support this process. We need to ask ourselves, how effective the policy environment is in delivering quality.

We are a few months to the next elections. Different political parties and individuals are making all manner of promises and are preparing their campaign manifestos, many of them on the economy.

It is important that as opposed to the heat that this process generates, this must be an opportunity for policy action to ensure that we can guarantee that potatoes produced in Kenya are purchased by companies such as KFC.

In doing so, we need to ensure it is not nationalism that drives us but competitiveness and incentives.