Hard truths. Bold Insights. Real talk.
The new plant includes a modern laboratory equipped for mycotoxin analysis, forage testing, shelf-life assessment and real-time raw material screening using Near-Infrared Reflectance technology.
The Government committed to release Sh1 billion within the next two weeks to ease the workers’ immediate financial hardship, with the balance of the arrears to be settled through the Supplementary Budget and subsequent budgetary allocations, subject to parliamentary approval.
Kenya currently produces only about 20 per cent of its annual rice requirements against a local demand of roughly 80 per cent. This translates into an estimated annual deficit of about 800,000 tonnes, with total national demand exceeding one million metric tonnes.
The CS said the government’s first option remains buying maize from local farmers to build the National Strategic Food Reserves but cautioned that imports would be unavoidable if sufficient stocks are not delivered within 30 days.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the proposed measures are intended to ease cash-flow pressures, unlock reinvestment, and address long-standing concerns by exporters over delayed VAT refunds and high levies that have constrained growth.
The Cabinet Secretary cautioned that efforts to collapse veterinary medicines regulation into a human medicines authority, through bills under consideration at both national and regional levels, run counter to Kenya’s obligations under the East African Community (EAC) and COMESA frameworks.
In a statement on Monday, the KTDA Board said the recruitment process has already attracted 50 applicants, including five internal candidates drawn from the organisation’s senior leadership ranks, among them serving managing directors and general managers.
Agriculture and Livestock Development CS, Mutahi Kagwe said the move was informed by the heavy toll of previous droughts, which he noted had killed more than 2.5 million livestock and caused economic losses exceeding Sh50 billion, particularly in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) counties.
Speaking during a church service at ACK St Paul’s Church in Kariki, Othaya, Nyeri County, Kagwe cautioned that the region risks weakening its political influence by repeatedly turning against its own leaders rather than nurturing and retaining them.
Kenya currently produces about 13,000 tonnes annually, far below its installed processing capacity of 45,000 tonnes.
Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe told Parliament that private leases of four state sugar mills will modernize production, protect farmers, and see all investments revert to government after 30 years.
During the meeting, Kagwe raised concerns about the widening trade gap, pointing out that Kenya bought goods worth about USD 4.5 billion (Sh581.5 billion) from China in 2024, while its exports to the Asian nation were valued at only USD 290 million (Sh37.5 billion). Most of the exported produce consisted of raw agricultural items, mainly tea and avocados.