Raila Seals Agricultural Deal With Chinese Firms

The deal between Odinga and the China Overseas Agricultural Development Alliance(COADA) will see counties benefit from an arrangement by the Chinese firm provide them with farm machinery, mechanized produce harvesting processes, irrigation equipment, fish processing plants, grassroots after sales service outlets, and modern agricultural technology training centres.

The arrangement will also see farmers benefit from provision of farm inputs, technological skills transfer and guaranteed market for the agricultural produce from the Chinese companies and market.

In a move that could re-engineer agricultural systems and practices in the country, Kenyan counties are in-turn expected to pool together resources and provide large farmlands ranging between 40-50,000 hectares each as their contributing component to the joint venture, while at the same time enjoying economies of scale from large scale agricultural production through the joint venture initiative.

BUREAUCRATIC BOTTLENECKS

The COADA Team was led by their Secretary General who is also the President of Debont Agricultural Co. Ltd. Mr. Liu Hanwu. and President of the Xinjiang International Agricultural Co. Ltd. Mr. Lu Zhong.

A technical team consisting of members drawn from both sides was constituted to draw an implementation road map complete with detailed work-plan to actualize the agreement. A Pilot project for the same will be implemented in ten counties that lie within the Lake Victoria Basin.

Raila appealed to the national government to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks and unnecessary regulatory mechanisms that still hinder direct foreign investment despite promulgation of the 2010 Kenyan Constitution.

He singled out the unwillingness of the Jubilee government to facilitate Sovereign Guarantees for foreign Financial Capital inflow into the counties and involvement of the Public-Private Partnership regulatory unit.

The Kenyan team comprised of Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, Nyamira Governor John Nyangarama, Siaya Governor Cornell Rasanga, Marsabit Deputy Governor Ali Omar Abdi and Mr. Eliud Owalo, a Management Consultant.

Also present was the Second Counselor at the Kenyan Embassy in Beijing Mr. John Odipo.