CS Kagwe pushes food import cuts, backs local farming to save Sh500 billion

Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe at a past event/HANDOUT.

Kenya is spending over Sh500 billion on food imports—a trend Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe now wants urgently reversed.

Speaking during a visit to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization Msabaha Research Centre in Kilifi on Thursday, Kagwe made a strong case for boosting local production, saying the country must prioritise growing its own food to cut reliance on imports.

“This regime is determined to reverse this practice,” Kagwe said, noting that Kenya has the capacity not only to feed itself but also produce surplus for export.

He warned that excessive importation is draining the economy and denying Kenyans job opportunities that would otherwise be created through local production and exports.

“We cannot afford to continue to export our opportunities and jobs through importation,” he said.

To support farmers, Kagwe said the government has rolled out subsidised fertiliser and seed distribution during the current rainy season, targeting millions of farmers through Kenya Seed Company.

He praised improvements in the system, saying subsidies are now reaching intended beneficiaries.

In previous years, he noted, middlemen interfered with the process by buying subsidised inputs and reselling them at higher prices, locking out genuine farmers.

Kagwe revealed that concerns raised by Kenya Seed chairperson Wangui Ngirici helped expose the inefficiencies, with funds failing to benefit farmers as intended.

The ministry now says reforms in distribution are aimed at ensuring farmers directly access affordable inputs, boosting production and strengthening Kenya’s food security.

The CS noted that importation stifled job opportunities made available when the country exports its products internationally.

"We cannot afford to continue to export our opportunities and jobs through importation," he said.

Kagwe added that the Agriculture ministry has ensured that 70 million local farmers registered under the Kenya Seed has access to subsidised fertilisers and seeds during the current rainy season.

Kagwe said the ministry had difficulty in providing subsidies for farmers in previous years due to middlemen buying from the company and selling it to farmers.

"Last year the issue was we are giving a seed subsidy, but where is it going to? Who is receiving it? It was essentially middlemen buying from Kenya Seeds and then moving it," Kagwe said.

According to the CS, the chairperson of Kenya Seed, Wangui Ngirici, observed that since the farmers did not profit from the subsidy, the funds were being wasted.

"I remember the chair telling me that we are actually wasting money because at that time what was happening is that the subsidy was not being paid."