The government has earmarked KSh 47.6 billion in the 2025/2026 budget to drive agricultural transformation, enhance food security, and boost productivity across key value chains including horticulture, fisheries, food crops, and livestock.
While presenting the budget before Parliament, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi underscored agriculture as a central pillar of the government’s strategy to address the country’s food deficit, reduce dependence on imports, and revitalize export crops.
“The government will scale up support to farmers through input financing, subsidies, and extension services to shift the country from food deficit to food surplus,” said CS Mbadi.
Key Allocations:
- KSh 8 billion for the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme
- KSh 10.2 billion for the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project
- KSh 800 million for the Small-Scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project
- KSh 1.2 billion for the Food Security and Crop Diversification Project
- KSh 5.8 billion for the Food Systems Resilience Project
Mbadi revealed that 6.5 million farmers have benefitted from the fertilizer subsidy since February 2024, contributing to a 67% drop in fertilizer costs and a 38.9% increase in maize production.
To boost livestock development, the budget proposes:
- KSh 2.3 billion for the De-Risking, Inclusion and Value Enhancement of Pastoral Economies Programme
- KSh 1.6 billion for the Kenya Livestock Commercialization Programme (KeLCoP)
- KSh 280 million for the Livestock Value Chain Support Project
- KSh 340 million for the development of the Leather Industrial Park in Kenanie
Investment in Blue Economy:
The Blue Economy and Fisheries sub-sector will receive KSh 8.2 billion, including:
- KSh 2.3 billion for the Aquaculture Business Development Project
- KSh 2.4 billion for the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic Development Project
- KSh 500 million for the Kabonyo Fisheries and Aquaculture Training Center
Climate Resilience:
To mitigate the effects of climate change, the Treasury allocated:
- KSh 1.3 billion for the Resilience for Food & Nutrition Security Program in the Horn of Africa
- KSh 318 million for the Towards Ending Drought Emergencies Project
Mbadi also announced that the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) is rolling out specialized training in livestock and crop insurance to promote uptake of agricultural insurance as a climate risk mitigation tool.
Overall, the 2025/26 budget reflects a strong commitment to transforming agriculture into a resilient, inclusive, and export-driven sector, even as the government projects total revenue at KSh 3.32 trillion and total expenditure at KSh 4.29 trillion.
Written By Rodney Mbua
