The government is set to spend Kes 54.6 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year to finance various agriculture activities in the sector.
While reading the 2024/2025 budget statement in parliament on Thursday, National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u said the Government will continue to focus on agricultural transformation and inclusive growth through the value chain approach.
He said the aim will be to provide adequate and affordable working capital to all farmers through cooperative societies and deploy modern agricultural risk management instruments to ensure farming is profitable and predictable income.
“The government aims at transforming farmers from a food deficit to surplus producers through input finance, subsidies and intensive agricultural extension support, raise the productivity of key food value chains, reduce dependence on basis food imports, revamp underperforming export crops and boost tea value chain through blending and branding.”
The CS proposed allocating Kes 54.6 billion for various sector programs to attain food and nutrition security.
Did you read this?
These programs include Kes 10 billion for the fertilizer subsidy program, Kes 6.1 billion for the National Agricultural Value Chain development project, and Kes 2.5 billion for emergency locust response.
Further, Kes 2.4 billion will be used to enable youth and women in agriculture, Kes 747. million will be used for small-scale irrigation and value-addition projects, and Kes 642.5 million will be used for the food security and crop diversification project.
Ndung’u has proposed Kes 2.4 billion for the pastoral economies program's derisking, inclusion, and value enhancement, Ksh 1.5 billion for the livestock value chain support project, Ksh 1.5 billion for the Kenya livestock commercialization program, and Ksh 192.5 million for the embryo transfer project.
“ I have also proposed Kes 300 million for the development of leader industrial park while at the same time proposed an allocation of Kes 340 million towards ending drought emergencies project as this will raise agricultural productivity and enhance resilience to climate change risks in targeted smallholder farming pastoral communities”, the CS said
To support environmental and water conservation and respond to climate change, Prof Ndung’u set aside Kes 73.1 billion to expand Access to Clean and Adequate Water for Domestic and Agricultural use in the next financial year 2024/25.
Additionally, he proposed Kes 10.7 billion for Forest Resources Conservation and Management, Kes 1.7 billion for Forest Research and Development, Kes 5.9 billion for Kenya Financing Locally Led Climate Action Project, Kes 2.7 billion for Environment Management and Protection, Kes 1.6 billion for Meteorological Service, and Kes 13.1 billion for Wildlife security, conservation, and management.
The statement that Prof. Ndung’u delivered to the National Assembly is running under the theme “ Sustaining Bottom up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) , fiscal consolidation and investing in climate change mitigation and adaptation for improved livelihoods.”
