Nairobi — Kenya's agriculture and livestock sectors face a significant budget shortfall for the 2025/26 financial year, with Parliament's budget estimates allocating Sh58.2 billion--far below the Sh106 billion requested by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.
The Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock revealed the gap in its report to the National Assembly, raising concerns over the sustainability and effectiveness of flagship programmes.
Of the total allocation, Sh48.25 billion is earmarked for the State Department for Agriculture and Sh9.99 billion for Livestock Development. This represents a Sh1.18 billion increase from last year's allocation of Sh57.06 billion.
However, sector players argue this remains insufficient to meet the demands of ongoing reforms and projects targeting food security, climate resilience, and agribusiness development.
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The agriculture sector, which contributes 22.5 percent of the country's GDP and supports the livelihoods of millions, was allocated just 3 percent of the national government's total budget, significantly below the 10 percent commitment under the Malabo and Kampala Declarations.
The Committee's report also highlights a backlog of pending bills totalling over Sh11.8 billion--Sh7.88 billion under the State Department for Agriculture and Sh4 billion under Livestock Development. These debts, some linked to subsidies and court awards, remain unfunded in the new budget.
Despite budgetary constraints, some key programmes received partial support. The Fertilizer Subsidy Programme was allocated Sh8 billion, although it requires Sh18 billion.
Similarly, the Tea Reforms Project needs Sh4.5 billion, yet received no funding. Other underfunded initiatives include the Seed Subsidy, Aggregation Centres, and Livestock Feedlot programmes.
Donor-funded projects will continue to play a significant role, with approximately 64% of development expenditure (Ksh19.7 billion) under the State Department for Agriculture financed through external loans and grants.
Among these is the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP), which secured Ksh10.2 billion in donor support.
Key sector institutions, including the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), and the Kenya Veterinary Board, also reported reduced funding.
Stakeholders have warned that this could undermine research, value chain development, and veterinary oversight.
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The Committee has recommended a review of proposed mergers under Executive Order No. 1 of 2025 and called for better coordination between agriculture and irrigation interventions. It also urged the National Treasury to settle historical pending bills and provide supplementary funding to bridge critical gaps.
As Kenya seeks to achieve food security and agricultural transformation, the disconnect between budget allocations and sector demands poses a risk to ongoing reforms and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Stakeholders are calling for more realistic and sustained investment to support inclusive rural development and long-term economic resilience.
