By FEMI AKINOLA
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Agricultural professionals in Kenya will soon be mandated to possess university degree, diploma or certificate in agricultural courses to sell farm inputs once the Agricultural Professionals Registration and Licensing Bill 2024 becomes law in the East Africa nation.
Defaulters of the Agricultural Professionals Registration and Licensing Bill 2024 risk a two-year jail term nd a monetary fine of 200,000 Kenyan Shillings fine if the Prliament passes the proposed legislation.
The Bill which was sponsored by Tigana West Member of Parliament (MP), John Mutunga, proposed that ”A person who, not been eligible to be registered or licensed under this Act, manages or dispenses gricultural inputs in form of fertilisers, feeds, agricultural chemicals, commits an offence an is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding Sh200,000 or imprisonment to a term not exceeding two years or both.”
If this Bill is eventually passed, agricultural professionals will join the growing list of regulated professions in Kenya, including medical professionals, lawyers, engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, and accountants.
In addition, the Bill will give the government a tighter leash on the sector in which dubious traders have been duping farmers with counterfeit and substandard seeds and fertilisers, which has affected crop production negatively.
The Bill seeks to establish the Agricultural Professional Registration and Licensing, Board to register, issue annual licences, and regulate the conduct of the sectors practitioners. Those who seek registration to practice will pay yet-to-be determine annual fee to renew their licences.
In the Bill’s memorandum of objects and reasons, the sponsor, MP Mutunga said, ” The main objective of this Bill is to provide a legislative framework for the training, registration, and licensing of gricultural professionals. The Bill further seeks to regulate the practice of agricultural professionals.”
