Overview

Given our strategic obligations and to meet our objectives, every unit in the Division of Agriculture is charged and mandated to deliver on clearly defined programme areas and components. Inherently, this action is never outside the boundaries of our higher national priorities and aspirations for achieving economic growth and development, alleviating poverty, generating employment, enhancing Food and Nutrition security and pursuing Environmental care.

The Division of Agriculture Work Programme (2015-2016) is fully aligned with the Goals and Aspirations of Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and that of the Government of the Commonwealth and its identified Strategic Priorities which are:

To Achieve Economic Growth and Development
To Alleviate Poverty
To Generate Employment
To Enhance Food and Nutrition Security
To Pursue Environmental Care and Sustenance

Our Strategic Goals

Sustainable Production Systems:-

This aims to release physical and other constraints to the development of the agricultural sector to increase output, production and productivity intended to enhance food and nutrition security and provide to the required volumes for export.

Agri-business and entrepreneurship development and competitiveness:-

To increase the knowledge of all farmers and other stakeholders along commodity value chains in health and food safety, quality control, post-harvest handling and marketing and to provide the technical environment with expertise to support agro-processing. It also aims to promote agri-business development.

Innovation, research and development:-

To create the enabling environment to innovate and do research and development to include new and appropriate technology for transfer.

Institutional strengthening and development:-

To build and orient our organization’s capacity to support agricultural development by employing sound policies to guide actions of producers, agri-entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the sector.

Professionalization of producers:-

To develop capacity-building among farmers and agri-entrepreneur organizations by making the sector more knowledge–intensive. This involves applications and improvements in technology generation and delivery systems.

Climate change resilience:-

To build an agriculture sector resilient to the vulnerabilities and effects of climate change and other mitigating factors or occurrence, whether environmental, economic or political. This includes areas of risk management, analysis/measurement and mitigation.

We will achieve:

DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS by:

Developing farming systems that are characterized by proper utilization of soil while enhancing interactions of soil, water and nutrition
Employing safeguard mechanism for land degradation and soil loss as well

biodiversity and water conservation

Increasing investments in potentially profitable livestock and crop production enterprises
Improving crop cultivation and livestock production practices and develop sustainable systems by transferring appropriate technologies to farmers
Developing needed infrastructure to support production and facilitate trade
Improving access and availability of recommended inputs to all producers for increased yields
Facilitating the collection and management of reliable farmer/farm data used at all levels for policy decision-making and along value-chains
Enhancing Food and Nutrition Security

We will achieve:

AGRI-BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND COMPETITIVENESS by:

Formulating and implementing a policy framework for farmer organizations
Developing of high-value export commodities
Promoting a value-chain approach for commodities with comparative advantage
Promoting better farm planning and control
Facilitating of agri-entrepreneurs’ organizations and service providers
Creating of the enabling environment conducive to business and entrepreneurship development to include agro-processing and value added
Support development of Market–oriented systems and infrastructure
Develop market access and rural infrastructure
Enhance quality standards and systems
Improve transportation for local and regional access
Develop agricultural food health and food safety systems
Facilitate the legislative framework for trade quality standards
Strengthening micro- and other financing systems, farm safety and security

We will achieve:

INNOVATION,RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT by:

Developingthe necessary research and innovation policy framework for

transforming the agricultural sector

Defining research needs based on food and nutrition security and export

requirements (the national export strategy and food and nutrition policy)

Aligning technology development based on farmer requirements and facilitate transfer appropriately to

farmer conditions and requirements

Developing the national organizational structure required to guide research
Defining the role of farmers in research utilizing participatory approaches

We will achieve:

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING AND DEVELOPMENT by:

Developing the policy and regulatory framework for the sector enhance agricultural statistics and information and communication technology systems
Developing a robust monitoring and evaluation system and co-ordination mechanism for the DOA and for inter-sectoral integration
Instituting appropriate management mechanisms and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s)
Instituting quality standards in implementation and reporting
Facilitating the collection and management of reliable farmer/farm data used for policy decision-making and along value-chains
Increasing capacity in animal and plant disease diagnostics and modernize rapid response mechanisms to diseases outbreaks, including traceability
Developing an efficient extension delivery system
Seeking training opportunities for staff to build technical experties
Building an efficient workforce to deliver appropriately to famers and other clients
Identifying suitable land for agriculture based on quantitative and qualitative needs (analysis)
Developing a strategy for an efficient labour force for agriculture
Building partnerships and networks for greater efficiency

We will achieve:

PROFESSIONALISATION OF THE FARMER BASE by:h

Strengthening the sector's social base
Support organizational framework necessary to develop commercial linkages and function as entrepreneurs.
Promoting and subscribing to new ways of doing business
Promoting farmer organizations and capacity building of farmers
Creating a knowledge-intensive sector

We will achieve:

CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE by:

Developing an adaptivestrategy to minimize risk to the sector
Developing and adopting mitigation measures to increase resilience to natural and othershocks
Developing and transferring climate proofed technologies for use by farmers
Developing an efficient system to assess losses due to climatic conditions and diseases and pests
Building partnerships for capacity building and institutional strengthening for climate change interventions
Employing biological and other sustainable management methods for pests and diseases
Strengthening micro- and other financing systems, farm safety and security and risk management
Biodiversity and environmental integrity

We are a Division, we are a Team and we are furthering our Mission of showing you that in Partnership, Agriculture will continue to Succeed.

Our Approach

Given our strategic obligations and to meet our objectives, every unit in the Division of Agriculture is charged and mandated to deliver on clearly defined programme areas and components. Inherently, this action is never outside the boundaries of our higher national priorities and aspirations for achieving economic growth and development, alleviating poverty, generating employment, enhancing Food and Nutrition security and pursuing Environmental care.