Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has rallied government agencies in the agriculture sector to deliver measurable results that will transform the country into a net food exporter.
Speaking during a high-level consultative meeting with agencies under the ministry and the signing of the 2025/26 Financial Year performance contracts, Kagwe said food imports is a costly economic leakage the country can no longer sustain.
“This country spends billions of shillings importing food that we have the capacity to produce locally. We cannot afford to continue exporting jobs and opportunities through imports,” said Kagwe.
In a move aimed at improving productivity in the sector, Kagwe revealed that at least 7.2 million farmers have already been registered under the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS), enabling targeted distribution of subsidized inputs such as fertilizer and seeds during the current long rains season.
This comes as the ministry secured additional Ksh 10 billion from the supplementary budget for the fertilizer subsidy programme taking total allocation in the current fiscal year to Ksh 18 billion.
“We have put in place systems to ensure farmers access inputs efficiently. What is required now is increased production and commitment across the value chains,” he noted.
The signing of the 2025/26 performance contracts underscored the Government’s renewed focus on results-driven public service, with agencies committing to specific targets aligned to national priorities under President William Ruto’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
CS Kagwe emphasized that performance contracting remains a key government tool to enhance efficiency, accountability and service delivery, warning that agencies will be held both individually and collectively responsible for outcomes.
“We must go beyond processes and ask ourselves what real impact we are having on the social and economic wellbeing of Kenyans,” he said.
He highlighted major gains made in the sector, including the digitization of farmer data through KIAMIS and continued investments in livestock, which contributes over KSh 450 billion annually to the economy through products such as milk, meat and poultry.
At the same time, CS Kagwe acknowledged persistent structural challenges facing several state agencies, including governance issues, wage pressures, pending bills, and overlapping mandates. He assured institutions of government support while urging them to strengthen internal revenue generation and adopt prudent financial management.
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