By:Faith Mukundi
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has highlighted sharp reductions in the cost of key agricultural inputs, saying government subsidies have helped lower production costs for farmers across the country.
Kindiki said the price of a bag of fertiliser had fallen from KSh7,000 to KSh2,000, while the cost of certified maize seed had dropped by 50 per cent from KSh300 to KSh150 per kilogramme.
The Deputy President also said the price of sexed semen used in the artificial insemination of dairy cows had been reduced from KSh8,000 to KSh1,400 per dose.
Kindiki made the remarks on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, during the official opening of the Agriculture and Food Security Transformation Summit at Jamhuri Park ASK Showground in Nairobi.
He said the reductions were part of the government’s broader strategy to place agriculture at the centre of Kenya’s economic transformation and make farming more affordable for producers.
According to Kindiki, the lower input costs have been accompanied by increased agricultural production and improved farmer incomes across several value chains.
He said the government had also expanded the national farmer database from about 300,000 farmers to 7.2 million crop farmers and three million livestock keepers.
The Deputy President said livestock production had also received support through measures targeting animal health and breeding.
He revealed that 8.9 million cattle had so far been vaccinated under an ongoing programme targeting the country’s estimated 22 million cattle and 50 million small stock.
Kindiki said the interventions had contributed to increased production of maize, sugar and oil crops, as well as growth in livestock and dairy value chains.
Kenya’s milk production, he said, had increased from 4.6 billion litres to 5.2 billion litres, while the value of dairy products had risen from KSh4.9 billion to KSh8.9 billion.
He further said Kenya had become the leading exporter of processed milk in Africa, while the value of meat exports had increased from KSh8.9 billion to KSh12.9 billion.
Kindiki also cited investments in value addition, saying 17 County Aggregation and Industrial Parks had been completed and were being equipped to support agro-processing.
He said extension services had been revamped, while research and innovation had been stepped up to develop new crop varieties, better animal breeds and improved farming technologies.
Kindiki said the government was also promoting smart agriculture and precision farming as part of efforts to increase productivity and strengthen food security.
He placed farmers at the centre of the transformation agenda, saying their work was critical to Kenya’s goal of becoming self-sufficient in food production.
“At the Centre of this impressive transformation is the farmer: hard working, resilient and patriotic enough to know that their work is not just about livelihood, it is also about making our country self sufficient in matters food,” Kindiki said.