Kenya May Double Corn Output By Increasing Fertilizer, Standard Bank Says

Kenya could double its output of corn, the nation’s staple food, by increasing its use of fertilizers, said Jacques Taylor, head of agricultural banking at Standard Bank Group Ltd.

“The combination of hybrid seed varieties and fertilizer in Kenya can increase corn yields between 40 percent and 100 percent,” Taylor said in an e-mailed response to questions today.

Per-capita corn consumption is 97 kilograms (213.4 pounds) a year in East Africa’s biggest economy, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Output in 2009 was 1.8 million metric tons, according to a report by the Heinrich Boll Foundation that cited figures from the National Cereals and Produce Board of Kenya.

Africa’s use of fertilizer is the lowest in the world at 2 percent, resulting in low productivity. Cereal yields in sub- Saharan Africa stand at 1.3 tons per hectare compared to 3.5 metric tons in Europe and 5.5 tons in North America, Taylor said. A lack of manufacturing plants, high costs and limited funding to help develop ineffective market linkages contribute to the low usage of the growth stimulant, Taylor said.

Total cost of agricultural production is higher in Africa compared to other continents because of an absence of economies of scale, “huge” transaction costs, low productivity, and a lack of financing, he said.

Lenders have avoided giving loans to farmers due to the remoteness of farmlands, the lag between investment and expected revenues, a lack of usable collateral, pest and diseases, unpredictable weather, and small farm sizes, Taylor said.

Farmers can improve their earnings by seeking the assistance of non-governmental organizations in operational management and improving efficiencies in accessing inputs and markets, Taylor said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Ombok in Nairobi at eombok@bloomberg.net.

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