Farming key to Kenya Kwanza transformation agenda-Owalo

Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) played host to the Deputy Chief of Staff, performance and delivery management, Eliud Owalo, this week who was on a working tour.
The Deputy Chief of Staff has been on a whistle-stop performance evaluation engagement with state departments and Corporations since last year.
This Performance Evaluation is pegged on the AFC Performance Contract for the 2023/2024 activity period. Key Result Areas under evaluation include financial stewardship, absorption of allocated funds, service delivery, loan collection, loan portfolio growth, non-performing loans recovery, payment of dividends to the national treasury, expansion of the areas under irrigation, growth of AFC customer base and the enhancement of Agricultural priority value chains.
The AFC team was led by the MD George Kubai and Chairman Governor John Mruttu.
Owalo reiterated that AFC is one of the most important institutions in realizing the Bottom- Up economic transformation agenda. Owalo remarked that a predatory mindset had made it hard if not impossible for most Kenyans to access what he termed as exorbitant loans, AFC, therefore, the deputy chief of staff added, occupies the special place, as a lender of last resort.
He urged AFC to put in more effort in loan recovery if they are to avoid insolvency. “As you embark on enhancing your customer base, you must strengthen the mechanisms of loan recovery,” Owallo added.
AFC Chair, John Mruttu said that they were keen that agriculture as a whole; from animal to crop husbandry, was supported and promoted. ” We cover the whole spectrum of livestock, ranging from Camels all the way down to Rabbits, he quipped.
The Corporation has ensured that they are aligned with the presidential national tree planting target of 15 billion tree in five years, by inserting as a conditional clause that for every 10,000 shillings given, the recipient must plant a tree. “We started this initiative two years ago, to ensure that farmers plant trees”, AFC Managing Director George Kubai added.
The Deputy Chief of staff spearheads performance and delivery management amongst other duties. The Performance delivery unit’s main goal is to accelerate the implementation of government flagship programs. This is done through strict monitoring and coordination; in essence being in touch with what’s going on and what’s not. The Unit keeps a close eye on the status of national government priorities, projects, programs, and presidential directives, ensuring everything is on track and verified.