By Ken Muthomi - Reporter
Kenya, 17 June 2026 - The government has committed $3.8 billion (about KSh490 billion) in public funds to support a five-year agricultural transformation framework aimed at mobilising billions in investment and modernising the sector by 2030.
Speaking during the launch of the Kenya AgriConnect Compact (2025–2030), Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Wednesday said that the programme is aimed at attracting $7.6 billion (about KSh 906 billion) in private investment as well as creating more than 2.4 million jobs in the sector by 2030.
The CS is optimistic that the project will transform agriculture from subsistence farming into a modern, high-tech, and commercially viable economic powerhouse.
Through the programme, the government is set to heavily deploy technology, which will see the expansion of digital services, agritech platforms for market traceability, and advanced processing technologies designed to eliminate crippling post-harvest losses.
"The Agriconnect Compact positions agriculture not as a subsistence sector, but as a modern, technology-enabled, climate-smart, and investment-ready engine for inclusive economic transformation," Kagwe said.
“The Agriconnect Compact is a deliberate, strategic, and urgent framework to align public investment with private sector ambition where public investment finances foundational systems and public goods, reducing risks and creating an enabling environment that attracts large-scale private capital," he added.
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The framework is also set to reinforce public-private partnerships, blended finance, and credit guarantees to make value chains such as dairy, edible oils, and horticulture, into lucrative targets for private capital.
The framework is also set to guide market reforms and the improvement of agricultural infrastructure, rolling out digital marketplaces, and developing structured trading systems to shield farmers from exploitation.
The market reforms are expected to slash costly imports of food staples like rice and maize by 50% while driving a 60% surge in high-value exports to global markets.
"The jobs to be created will be real jobs with dignity. The food security we achieve will mean that no Kenyan goes to bed hungry," Kagwe said.