Nairobi — President William Ruto says the government is in the process of leasing out idle land held by public institutions to private investors.

This move, the head of state avers, is aimed at availing more land for purposes of agricultural use in a bid to scale up land productivity in the country.

The programme which is being undertaken under the Land Commercialization initiative the head of state maintains, will step up food production in the country.

"We are intentional about actualizing our vision for agricultural transformation through increased productivity and determined to prosecute a direct line of attack against the high cost of living, poverty and unemployment. We have embarked on the focused execution of the Plan to enhance productivity in several agricultural value chains to promote self-sufficiency and export competitiveness," he said.

"We expect the fruits of these interventions to begin accruing shortly in the maize harvest season, through sustainable affordability of staple and other food commodities," he added.

President Ruto who was speaking during the opening of the Nairobi International Trade Fair in Nairobi's Jamhuri lamented over the constraints in subsidizing consumption in the wake of snowballing debt ceilings adding that the country needed more production in the agricultural sector and less importation.

"We have little room for maneuver and cannot afford the luxury of subsidizing consumption when our debt levels are already unsustainable. Between two choices, production is the prudent and promising option to subsidize and consumption is a reckless and hazardous path," maintained the president.

He further opined that the intervention will have far reaching effects in ensuring that the cost of living under control, through strategic investment in critical value chains.