A looming KSh59.9 billion funding shortfall threatens to undermine Kenya’s agriculture and livestock programmes, raising serious concerns over national food security, MPs have warned.
The alarm was raised when the National Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, chaired by John Mutunga (Tigania West), appeared before the Budget and Appropriations Committee on February 27, 2026, to review the 2026 Budget Policy Statement. Lawmakers highlighted a wide gap between planned allocations and verified resource requirements for the upcoming fiscal year.
Despite agriculture being positioned as a central pillar of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), funding falls far short of its objectives. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has been allocated KSh75.491 billion, while verified requirements total KSh135.355 billion, leaving a shortfall of KSh59.9 billion.
“The fiscal provisions remain disproportionately low compared to the sector’s key role in driving inclusive growth,” Mutunga said. “This shortfall risks derailing interventions for prioritised value chains and reviving collapsed export crops.”
The fertiliser subsidy programme alone faces a KSh24.25 billion gap, with only KSh9.5 billion allocated against a requirement of KSh33.75 billion. Crop diversification schemes, agricultural technology hubs, and aggregation centres are also underfunded.
The livestock sector received KSh15.496 billion, a 53% increase from last year’s KSh10.111 billion, yet a KSh12.497 billion shortfall remains. Lawmakers also flagged unpaid bills of KSh7.465 billion in agriculture and KSh4 billion in livestock, including a KSh1.2 billion pending payment for 230 milk coolers meant to strengthen dairy value chains.
MPs urged the Budget and Appropriations Committee to push for additional resources and called on the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture to collaborate with the National Treasury for “progressive addition of funds to support key value chains.”
Legislators further recommended a moratorium on new capital projects within the State Department until all existing and stalled projects are completed, warning that failure to address the funding gaps could slow agricultural growth and weaken national food security.
Without urgent financial adjustments, the agriculture sector’s capacity to support rural economies, boost crop and livestock productivity, and deliver on national food security goals could be severely compromised in the 2026/27 fiscal year.
