The Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe has issued a bold call to lenders and development partners to radically reform agricultural financing models, saying farmers will never achieve meaningful growth unless credit becomes affordable and donor funding is restructured to deliver direct impact at the farm level.
Speaking during the Intergovernmental Agriculture Forum in Naivasha, the CS said the government is pushing for de-risked, low-interest agricultural loans capped at 3–4%, arguing that current borrowing rates are locking farmers out of production and depressing national output.
“Financing guarantees must help us de-risk farmers. That percentage has to come down. I am proposing 4%, even 3%, if we truly want affordability,” he said, noting that loan terms must be aligned to farmers’ realities, seasonal cash flows, and commodity production cycles.
Kagwe added that the era of generic financing models that fail to reflect agricultural dynamics is over: “When we design loan terms, they must reflect the realities of what farmers produce, not abstract banking models. Financing must meet farmers where they are.”
The CS also issued a sharp message to development partners, insisting that Kenya will no longer accept project designs where administrative costs overshadow actual investment in farmers.
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“To our donor community: we need clear KPIs. There is too much self-declared success—everyone claiming miracles, even 50% increases in maize yields that do not exist,” he cautioned.
Kagwe said Kenya has endured years of capacity-building programmes with minimal value to farmers, calling for a decisive shift to direct investment.
“Let’s forget capacity building. We have built enough capacity. What we need now is investment that actually reaches the farmer.”
The CS proposed a strict ratio for donor-supported agricultural programmes—80% of all funds must go directly to farmers, while only 20% should be used for administration, logistics,
By Juma Ndigo
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