President William Ruto has challenged the Private Sector to complement Government programmes so as to stimulate sustainable agricultural production.

“There exists massive opportunities for public-private partnerships to undertake large agricultural projects in Kenya owing to the declining food production at a time demand is rising,” noted President Ruto who is attending the ongoing Dakar 2 Summit - Feed Africa, Senegal.

“These opportunities include investments in farm input supply, irrigation and the actual production.”

In the meantime, President Ruto has challenged his fellow African leaders to take the discourse on agriculture beyond production to value addition and manufacturing.
He said Africa has the potential to produce surplus food for export adding that this can generate more income and create jobs, especially for the youth.
According to him, these are the initiatives that will transform Africa.
“We should not be discussing food 60 years after independence.“
In panel discussion of 10 Heads of State and Governments, President Ruto said the upscaling of agriculture in the continent would require the right input, technology, enhanced irrigation and mechanization.
"Young people are also critical in the revival of our agricultural. Crucially, the greater the infusion of technology, the better the returns."

He warned against depedence on rain-fed agriculture saying many countries in Africa experience hunger due to this.  
Irrigation, the President explained, will assure Africa of enough food for consumption and export.
"There is no magic to enhanced agricultural production; more fertilizer use translates to more production.”
President Samia Suluhu told the Summit that  Tanzania has committed resources to help the youth acquire agricultural land and support them to pursue agribusiness.
On his part, the African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina called on Africa to utilize its huge arable land to feed itself.
"What Africa does with agriculture today will determine the future of food security in the world," he noted.
He said AfDB will invest Ksh.1.2 trillion in the next five years to support food production in Africa.
 "Africa must feed itself,” he said.