FACT-CHECK: CS Linturi’s claim that agriculture contributes 60% of GDP is not true

During his vetting as Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture on Friday, October 21, CS Mithik Linturi said that agriculture contributes almost 60 per cent of the GDP.

Linturi was among the cabinet secretaries President William Ruto appointed.

In his remark on agriculture, the MP said (at 1:05: 55 Minute): 

“I want to agree with the MP that agriculture contributes to almost 60 per cent of the GDP,” Linturi said.

The fact-checker has however established that the claim by the CS is not true.

According to the monetary policy committee agriculture survey dated July 2022, Agriculture contributes 20 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period.

The report is available on the Central Bank of Kenya Website.

“The agriculture sector continues to play a critical role in Kenya’s economy accounting for 20 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” the report reads.

The report further states that the sector also employs over 40 per cent of the total population and more than 70 per cent of the rural populace.

The survey was funded by the Central bank of Kenya to inform the food supply situation in the country.

This fact check was produced by The Star Newspaper with support from Code for Africa’s PesaCheck, African Fact-Checking Alliance Network, and the United Nations Development Program.