NAIROBI, Kenya — Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has urged Kenya to embrace innovation, data, and technology as key drivers of the country’s agricultural transformation, warning that the sector’s future depends on how fast it adapts to modern systems.
Speaking during the National Agribusiness Excellence Awards at the 5th National Agribusiness Summit in Nairobi, Mudavadi said his office is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture and global partners to build integrated digital ecosystems that will streamline service delivery across the agricultural value chain.
“These systems will support farmer registration, e-extension, digital input access, and real-time market intelligence,” he said, noting that technology-based reforms are central to improving productivity and accountability.
Mudavadi stressed that agricultural transformation requires deeper partnerships between the government, the private sector, and development partners.
“For agriculture to thrive, partnerships must deepen, and coordination must strengthen. The Government alone cannot achieve the transformation we seek,” he said.
He challenged the private sector to lead investments in processing, logistics, and value addition while urging development partners to continue supporting financing, capacity building, and innovation.
Mudavadi also emphasized empowering county governments to implement agricultural programmes at the grassroots level, saying his office would continue bridging the gap between policy and practice.
“My office remains committed to facilitating coordination across all these actors. We will ensure that every initiative is aligned, efficient, transparent, and results-oriented,” he said.
He called on counties to invest in data-driven planning tools such as the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System and the National Farmer Registration System, which will help ensure that “every farmer in Kenya is visible, reachable, and supported effectively.”
The Prime Cabinet Secretary further highlighted the role of innovation hubs and agri-tech incubators in linking youth-led startups with public programmes, financial institutions, and investors, saying such platforms would accelerate agricultural modernization.
He also underscored the need for value addition and agro-processing, arguing that Kenya must stop exporting raw produce only to import finished goods at inflated prices.
“We are promoting local manufacturing and agro-processing to ensure that more value is retained within our borders,” Mudavadi said. “By supporting cottage industries, cold storage facilities, and agro-industrial parks, we are not only improving farm incomes but also creating sustainable employment, especially for women and youth.”
Mudavadi reiterated that agriculture remains the backbone of Kenya’s economy, forming the foundation of rural livelihoods and national food security. He lamented that farmers have long been treated as price-takers and called for a shift toward making agriculture a competitive and profitable enterprise.
He said the government is implementing key policy frameworks — including the Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS) and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) — to strengthen value chains, enhance market systems, and modernize rural infrastructure.
“These frameworks are helping us align county and national interventions, eliminate duplication, and deliver tangible results for our farmers and agripreneurs,” he said, adding that the government is strengthening aggregation centres, cooperatives, and digital marketplaces to connect farmers directly to buyers, processors, and exporters.
The 2025 summit, themed “From Promise to Action: Advancing Agribusiness through Dialogue and Innovation,” brought together leaders from government, academia, the private sector, and development agencies to chart pathways toward a sustainable and technology-driven agribusiness future.
