Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgey/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 3 – The Ministry of Agriculture has embarked on an aggressive reform agenda to modernise its operations and that of its affiliated institutions to ensure the best international practices.
They held an elaborate event at the KICC in celebration of the ministry’s receipt of the ISO 9001:2008 Certification which verifies it as having effective Quality Management Systems to improve its performances in line with the best and most modern standards.
Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgei said that the certificate was proof that the ministry has the technical capacity, competencies, systems, and professionalism to deliver the vision of a prosperous and food secure Kenya, especially to its rural people.
“I assure the public and in particular the farming community that as a ministry, we will continuously ensure sustenance of an enabling environment in order to achieve agriculture growth and development in line with the short and long term goals of Vision 2030 and the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy vision of an innovative commercially oriented and modern farming as a business,” she said.
Permanent Secretary Romano Kiome said that the ministry is implementing 10 quality objectives focusing on food security.
“The Ministry of Agriculture continues to be a key player in achieving the vision goals as its mandate compliments the government initiatives of both the social and economic pillars,” he said.
An important objective they plan to implement is to increase agricultural productivity and output by 5pc annually through: improved extension services and adopting modern technologies; strengthening private-public partnership; improved access to ICT-based Agricultural information; and sustainable land use practices.
The ministry also released a policy statement focused on promoting sustainable and competitive agriculture to enhance food security, employment creation, and income generation.
They plan on achieving this by providing efficient and effective support services to all our clients and stakeholders through dissemination of information and provision of technical services.
The ISO certificate is not a once-and-for-all award, but must be renewed at regular intervals recommended by the certification body, which is usually every three years.
