AGRA today recommitted to accelerating its partnership with the government to drive farmer-centered agricultural transformation, aligning its new investments with the governmentโ€™s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and county priorities.

AGRA in pact with Government to transform Smallholder Farming into Thriving Businesses

Under its current five-year strategy, AGRA is investing UD$29 million (about Ksh 3.8 billion) in Kenya to boost soil health, improve access to markets and finance, and strengthen support systems for smallholder farmers, working through national ministries, county governments, the private sector and farmer organizations.

โ€œKenya can turn small farms into thriving businesses if we fix soils, markets, and finance together,โ€ said AGRA President Alice Ruhweza during a high-level panel at the Intergovernmental Forum for Agriculture (IGFA) 2025 in Naivasha.

โ€œOur partnership is about delivery on the ground; AGRA has helped build a strong network of 506 Village-Based Advisors, 60 percent being women. These are trusted local advisors who walk with farmers, field by field, season by season,โ€ said Alice.

AGRA says its work in Kenya runs through government systems rather than parallel structures. In 2024, the continental agriculture agency and the Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock Development signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate investments at national and county level, supporting implementation of key policies from fertilizer and soil health to extension and seed systems.

A major focus is restoring soil fertility, which it describes as the โ€œhidden engineโ€ of Kenyaโ€™s food security and competitiveness. Many of the countryโ€™s most productive areas now face acidic and depleted soils, limiting the impact of subsidized fertilizer and other inputs.ย  Mr Ruhweza said her organization supported Kenya to host the 2024 Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit and is now helping domesticate the resulting Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan in a couple of counties.

Speaking at the same event AGRAโ€™s Kenya Acting Country Director Davis Muthini emphasised that partnerships with government and actors across the ecosystem are essential if we are to address todayโ€™s challenges in agriculture. By improving yields for smallholder farmers and helping them access structured markets, we can strengthen livelihoods and contribute directly to Kenyaโ€™s food security.

AGRAโ€™s partnership with the Kenyan government also tackles post-harvest losses, which can reach about one-third of production for some crops, wiping out potential income and driving food waste. With support from the Green Climate Fund, AGRA is channeling around US$7 million (almost Ksh 900million) into climate-smart post-harvest solutions, backing businesses that provide dryers, shellers, hermetic storage, and warehouse receipt systems so farmers can store safely and sell when prices are favorable.

In Makueni County, for example, improved storage for pulses and fruit has enabled farmers to reduce spoilage, secure better prices, and plan for expenses such as school fees and on-farm investments rather than selling in distress.

Finance and youth employment are another pillar of the collaboration. Despite agricultureโ€™s central role in Kenyaโ€™s economy, the sector still receives only a small share of formal bank lending โ€“ roughly 5 per cent, leaving many farmers reliant on informal sources of credit. Through partnerships with the National Treasury and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), it is supporting banks, SACCOs, and microfinance institutions to design products that work for farmers and agribusinesses.

Besides, AGRA has set out clear forward-looking priorities for Kenya over the next three to five years. The organization aims to support at least 2.5 million farmers to adopt climate-smart practices, including better seed, balanced fertilizer, and resilient agronomy, and help at least 2 million farmers access climate-smart post-harvest solutions that cut losses and raise incomes, especially for women and youth. It also plans to strengthen structured markets for at least 100,000 farmers and improve the extension worker-to-farmer ratio by blending frontline agents with digital advisory tools.

https://farmerstrend.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Alice-Ruhweza-AGRA-President-speaking-in-a-Panel-Session-at-AGFA-1024x780.jpeghttps://farmerstrend.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Alice-Ruhweza-AGRA-President-speaking-in-a-Panel-Session-at-AGFA-150x150.jpegFarmersTrend# TrendingAGRA today recommitted to accelerating its partnership with the government to drive farmer-centered agricultural transformation, aligning its new investments with the governmentโ€™s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and county priorities.Under its current five-year strategy, AGRA is investing UD$29 million (about Ksh 3.8 billion) in Kenya to boost soil health,...New Generation Culture in Agriculture