Raising productivity of key food value chains

The Kenya Kwanza promised to raise the productivity of the key value food chain, hence reducing basic food importation.

• The government has used the e-voucher/digital registration system to register farmers for access to subsidized fertilizer.
• In July 2025, a new fertilizer insurance scheme was rolled out to protect farmers from losses.
• The National Irrigation Authority (NIA), under the National Expanded Irrigation Programme (NEIP), reports that 228,731 acres have already been put under irrigation across 44 counties (147,131 acres in smallholder/community schemes + 80,600 acres via rehabilitation/expansion of gazetted public schemes).
• Platforms and partnerships like ACELI Africa aim to expand financial access for agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises.
• The government has allocated billions of shillings to various agriculture programs, including value chain development, food systems resilience, and small-scale irrigation. 
• While maize and some other areas have seen positive movement, systemic issues, underfunding, and uneven implementation have prevented the full promise from being delivered as initially envisioned. The initiative has been adapted in response to persistent challenges and external pressures.
• Kenya’s food import bill for the year 2025 increased by Ksh 4.8 billion which reversed a decline that had been witnessed in 2024 signalling renewed pressure on food supply chains as a result of the poor short rains experienced during the year.