13/09/2026
FARMER-CENTRED AGRICULTURAL POLICY PRIORITIES FOR KENYA
Kenya’s agricultural transformation should place farmers, food sovereignty, local value addition, environmental sustainability and resilient rural economies at the centre of national policy. The following priorities provide a practical framework for strengthening Kenya’s food systems while protecting the interests of smallholder farmers and farming communities.
1. Seed Sovereignty and Protection of Indigenous Genetic Resources
Kenya should strengthen the conservation, multiplication, development and responsible use of indigenous, traditional and locally adapted seed varieties. Farmers and communities should have meaningful rights to conserve and utilise their traditional genetic resources.
National seed policies should protect biodiversity, farmer choice and food security while ensuring that technological developments—including genetically modified technologies—are assessed transparently, scientifically and in consideration of their potential economic, environmental and social impacts.
Kenya should also safeguard strategic national agricultural assets and prevent excessive concentration of control over the country’s seed and food systems.
2. Decentralised Agro-Processing and Local Value Addition
Agricultural processing should be brought closer to where food is produced.
Government should promote county and regional agro-processing facilities for maize, dairy, sugar, fruits, vegetables, grains, livestock products and other commodities. Locating processing facilities near farmers would:
- Reduce transportation and logistics costs;
- Create employment within rural communities;
- Reduce post-harvest losses;
- Increase farmer participation in value addition;
- Stimulate local manufacturing and enterprise development; and
- Enable farmers to retain a greater share of the value generated from their produce.
Kenya should move from being primarily a producer of raw agricultural commodities to becoming a competitive producer of processed, branded and value-added food products.
3. Zero-Rating and Strong Tax Protection for Agriculture
Agriculture is the foundation of Kenya’s food security and rural economy and should receive appropriate fiscal protection.
Essential agricultural tools, equipment, technologies and qualifying production inputs should be zero-rated or subjected to the lowest practical tax burden, particularly where taxation directly increases the cost of production for smallholder farmers.
Tax policy should be designed to make farming more affordable, productive and competitive rather than increasing the financial burden on farmers.
4. Investment in Post-Harvest Management Infrastructure
Kenya must treat post-harvest losses as a major agricultural and food-security challenge.
The country should invest substantially in county-level cold storage, modern warehouses, grain storage facilities, drying systems, aggregation centres and appropriate processing infrastructure.
Such investments would enable farmers to store produce safely, reduce distress sales immediately after harvest, stabilise food supplies and improve farmers’ bargaining power in the marketplace.
5. Farmer-Friendly and Proportionate Agricultural Legislation
Agricultural laws and regulations should protect consumers, farmers, livestock, the environment and national food security without imposing disproportionate burdens on smallholder producers.
Proposed legislation affecting agriculture and livestock should undergo meaningful consultation with farmers, cooperatives, producer organisations and other stakeholders before implementation.
Regulation should distinguish between large commercial operations and smallholder or traditional farming systems, ensuring that compliance requirements do not unintentionally push small farmers out of agriculture.
6. Empowerment of Farmer-Led Cooperatives and SACCOs
Farmers should have a stronger voice in the governance and development of agricultural value chains.
Government should strengthen cooperatives, SACCOs, farmer organisations, producer groups and community-based agricultural enterprises by improving access to finance, markets, storage, processing, technology and training.
Rather than relying exclusively on centralised systems, Kenya should build a more decentralised agricultural economy in which farmers participate meaningfully in decision-making, aggregation, marketing and value addition.
7. Climate-Resilient Public Extension Services
Kenya needs a strong, accessible and adequately resourced public agricultural extension system.
Extension officers should be equipped to provide farmers with practical knowledge in:
- Agroecology and regenerative farming;
- Soil health and soil mapping;
- Water harvesting and conservation;
- Climate-smart agriculture;
- Integrated pest management;
- Indigenous and locally adapted crops;
- Biodiversity conservation;
- Organic soil fertility management; and
- Sustainable livestock and crop production.
Farmers should receive balanced, evidence-based information and a range of appropriate production options, enabling them to make informed decisions suited to their own farming environments.
OVERARCHING POLICY PRINCIPLE
Kenya’s food system must work for Kenyan farmers.
Agricultural policy should protect farmer choice, indigenous genetic resources, affordable production, local processing, food security, biodiversity and rural employment.
The country should move towards a food system where farmers are not merely producers of raw materials but active owners and participants in the value chain—from seed and production to aggregation, processing, branding, marketing and export.
A resilient agricultural future requires partnership between farmers, cooperatives, counties, national government, research institutions, training centres, private enterprises and development partners.
The ultimate objective should be clear:
«A sovereign, resilient and prosperous Kenyan food system built on empowered farmers, strong local economies, sustainable production and value addition at the source.»
