The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Kenya’s agriculture and livestock sectors are facing a major budget deficit in the 2025/26 fiscal year, with Parliament allocating Sh58.2 billion—well below the Sh106 billion requested by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.
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In a report to the National Assembly, the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock highlighted the funding shortfall, warning that it could jeopardize critical government initiatives.
From the total allocation, Sh48.25 billion has been assigned to the State Department for Agriculture and Sh9.99 billion to Livestock Development. While this reflects a slight increase from last year’s Sh57.06 billion, stakeholders argue it is still inadequate for vital sector reforms aimed at enhancing food security, climate adaptation, and agribusiness growth.
Despite agriculture contributing 22.5% to the GDP and being a key employer, it has received just 3% of the national budget—far below the 10% target set under the Malabo and Kampala Declarations.
The Committee also raised concern over Sh11.8 billion in unpaid bills, including Sh7.88 billion under agriculture and Sh4 billion under livestock. These debts, covering subsidies and legal awards, were not factored into the new budget.
While some initiatives received partial funding—such as Sh8 billion for the Fertilizer Subsidy Programme against a required Sh18 billion—others like the Tea Reforms Project got no funding at all. Programmes supporting seed subsidies, aggregation centres, and livestock feedlots were similarly underfunded.
Donor funding remains critical, with 64% (Sh19.7 billion) of development funding under agriculture coming from external loans and grants. Among the top beneficiaries is the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project, which secured Sh10.2 billion from donors.
Institutions like the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), and the Kenya Veterinary Board also saw their budgets reduced, raising fears about the potential impact on research, value chain support, and regulatory oversight.
The Committee urged the government to reconsider proposed institutional mergers under Executive Order No. 1 of 2025, settle existing debts, and provide additional funding to close critical budget gaps.
Without significant and sustained investment, stakeholders warn, the country’s food security goals and the broader Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) may be at risk.
