Kenya launches ambitious Sh1 trillion agri-food plan

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has officially launched a massive Sh1.081 trillion National Agri-food Systems Investment Plan (NASIP 2026–2030).

Unveiled by Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke on behalf of Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe during the opening of the third Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainably (FINAS) Summit at the KICC, the landmark roadmap aims to modernise agricultural value chains, expand irrigation, and bolster national food security.

Crucially, the ambitious framework is projected to create over two million jobs within the period while significantly boosting smallholder farmer incomes.

The execution of this framework requires a heavily diversified financing model. According to the Ministry, the national and county governments will contribute 35 per cent of the required envelope, with development and bilateral partners plugging in 20 per cent.

This leaves the largest burden on the private sector, which is expected to drive 45 per cent of the total investment, amounting to over Sh486 billion.

The launch coincides with continental pressure to accelerate the 2026–2035 CAADP Kampala Strategy, moving African nations away from passive policy dialogue and toward immediate, scalable implementation.

FINAS Summit Director Dr Charity Mutegi emphasised that the 2026 forum marks a hard pivot toward tangible delivery, highlighted by the unveiling of a new private-sector-led agriculture finance working group.

This urgency for execution was echoed by AGRA Vice President Prof. Hamadi Iddi Boga, who noted that Africa suffers no shortage of strategic commitments but desperately requires practical capital placement to strengthen fragile food systems.

Reacting to the launch, Daniel Gitau, CEO of INIFINITI Financial Solutions, underscored the critical role of innovative financial structuring in bridging this massive private sector funding deficit.

Gitau noted that hitting the NASIP targets requires moving entirely away from rigid, traditional commercial lending models toward highly adaptive, blended finance mechanisms capable of shielding MSMEs and small-scale farmers from escalating climate risks.

"To unlock Sh1 trillion, we must build a sustainable financial architecture that speaks the language of institutional investors while protecting the primary producer on the ground," Gitau stated.

He emphasised that Inifiniti Financial Solutions is actively designing structured agri-finance instruments and robust risk-mitigation frameworks to channel private capital directly into resilient food production and agro-industrialisation.

According to the CEO, integrating public agricultural data with private capital structures will drastically minimise credit default risks, ultimately catalysing the sustainable local investment required to establish Kenya as a competitive regional agribusiness powerhouse.