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East Africa

Kenya

Kenya is in East Africa. As the pilot country, it gathers qualitative facts checked against official or authoritative sources.

This is one of our pilot countries. The statements below were checked against the official or authoritative pages listed at the bottom of this page. They are qualitative and may change, so confirm details with the institution before you act. Anything we could not verify is listed separately.

What we found, by topic

Agricultural products

Sourced
  • The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) strategic plan, tied to the government's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), names tea, edible oils, rice, dairy, beef and leather development among the priority value chains.[2]
  • The Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS), published on the MoALD website, recommends county-level value chains such as maize, beans, tea, coffee, dairy, horticulture (for example French beans, tomatoes, passion fruit), rice, cassava, camel products, honey, cashew and fish.[3]
  • According to press reports, government communications on recent reforms highlight tea, sugarcane, maize, beans and rice as chains with recent growth, alongside support to MSMEs for value addition in tea and other priority chains.[12]

Value-addition opportunities

Sourced
  • The MoALD strategic plan stresses promoting value addition, reducing post-harvest losses and improving agricultural marketing infrastructure, with expected results in value addition, market access and trade.[2]
  • The ASTGS has production and value addition as one of its three anchors, including a flagship to set up agro-processing hubs through public-private partnerships, supported by an Agro-Processing Delivery Team. It describes counties as the foundation of implementation and expects them to reflect its priorities in their own development plans.[3]
  • The State Department for Investment Promotion lists agriculture (tea, dairy, edible oils, leather, textiles) among priority sectors and says County Aggregation and Industrial Parks are being established across Kenya's counties, with aggregation centres and value-addition sections. According to press reports, the government has also distributed grain driers to National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depots and cooperatives to reduce post-harvest losses.[10][12]

Business opportunities

Sourced
  • Businesses are registered online through the Business Registration Service (BRS) via the eCitizen portal; a business name is the simplest form and is not a separate legal entity, while a private limited company is a more formal structure requiring director and shareholder details linked to the tax platform (iTax).[7]
  • The Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA), created under the Micro and Small Enterprises Act of 2012, coordinates policy for the micro and small enterprise sector, and supports market access, capacity building, technology transfer and inclusion of youth, women and persons with disabilities.[8]
  • The Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) is a government-owned development finance institution under the Agricultural Finance Corporation Act, lending to farmers, cooperatives and companies engaged in agriculture or agricultural industries and offering managerial and technical advice. The State Department for Investment Promotion runs a One Stop Shop that guides investors on registration, licensing and compliance.[9][10]

Government resources

Sourced
  • The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), established by Executive Order in 2023, has two State Departments (Agriculture; Livestock Development) and oversees semi-autonomous government agencies and agricultural training institutions, with the mandate of creating an enabling environment for sustainable agricultural development.[1][2]
  • The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), under the AFA Act, administers the Crops Act and regulates production, processing, marketing, grading, storage and transport of agricultural products other than livestock, keeps a register of sector players and advises national and county governments on levies; it works through crop directorates.[11]
  • Under devolution, the national government handles agricultural and veterinary policy, capacity building and technical assistance to counties, while county governments deliver extension services and implement policy locally. The Agricultural Finance Corporation provides state credit, and the Kenya Veterinary Board regulates veterinary practice.[2][9][15]

Regulatory information

Sourced
  • The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS), under the KEPHIS Act of 2012, regulates plant protection, seeds and plant varieties, quarantine, plant variety protection, and inspection of plants and plant products at entry and exit points. For exports it issues phytosanitary certificates confirming that produce meets the importing country's requirements, after field and exit-point inspections.[4][5]
  • The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) operates product certification marks: the Standardization Mark (S-Mark) for locally manufactured products, the voluntary Diamond Mark, and a Fortification Mark for wheat flour, maize flour and edible oil.[6]
  • The Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) enforces the Dairy Industry Act, licensing and inspecting milk-handling facilities and monitoring the safety of milk and dairy products, according to a trade-press profile. The Kenya Veterinary Board supervises veterinary training and practice and registers veterinary professionals under the Veterinary Surgeons and Veterinary Paraprofessionals Act. Both are listed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development among the institutions under its State Department for Livestock Development.[14][15][33]
  • According to press reports, the Food and Feed Safety Control Co-ordination Act, 2026 has been enacted and is in force. It creates an Office of the Food and Feed Safety Controller to coordinate food and feed safety work across the health and agriculture ministries, KEPHIS, the Pest Control Products Board, KEBS, veterinary services and county governments; the coordinating office is not meant to replace the existing regulators.[13][32]

Financing resources

Sourced
  • The Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) is a government credit institution whose published programmes include the Enable Youth Program, which combines agribusiness training with concessional loans for young entrepreneurs, and Wholesale Lending, where AFC channels credit through SACCOs and microfinance institutions (the CRAW and MRAW windows) to reach under-served borrowers. According to press reports, the Crops Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which is still before Parliament, proposes merging AFC with the Commodities Fund into a new Kenya Agribusiness Development Corporation (KADCO) that would handle state agricultural lending, so AFC's name and role may change if it is passed.[18][30][31]
  • The National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) is a World Bank-supported Kenyan government project that aims to raise smallholder market participation and value addition in selected value chains, using tools such as e-vouchers, warehouse receipt financing, farm-gate and storage infrastructure, digital services and improved access to credit and insurance. According to Kenya News Agency, KALRO is involved in implementing the project, including farmer registration and technology deployment.[16][17]
  • The Youth Enterprise Development Fund (the Youth Fund) and FAO have trained and mentored young agribusiness entrepreneurs in Kakamega County, including on how to access government funds and market their products, in value chains such as dairy, aquaculture and soya bean.[29]

Export information

Sourced
  • The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) inspects crops during growth and at exit points, checking for pests, diseases, pesticide residue compliance, grading and packaging, and issues phytosanitary certificates showing that plant produce meets importing countries' requirements.[19]
  • The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) is a state corporation created in 2019 by merging two earlier bodies; its mandate is to implement export promotion and nation-branding policies and initiatives for Kenyan goods and services.[20]
  • The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) oversees crop sub-sectors through directorates, including Horticultural Crops (fruits, vegetables and flowers, with attention to export quality), Nuts and Oil Crops, Food Crops, Coffee and Fibre Crops.[23]

Training

Sourced
  • The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) conducts and coordinates agricultural and livestock research and promotes access to research information and technologies, in support of value addition in agriculture and livestock.[24]
  • Agricultural Training Centres (ATCs) offer farmer training, practical demonstrations and adaptive trials; Makueni County's ATC, for example, also runs ATVET (agricultural technical and vocational) courses.[25]
  • A GIZ-supported ATVET initiative has introduced competency-based training in partner institutions such as the Kenya School of Agriculture, Bukura Agricultural College and the Dairy Training Institute, with practical content on value chains, contract farming, good agricultural practices, agribusiness and dairy production.[26]

Markets

Sourced
  • The Warehouse Receipt System Council (WRSC), set up under the Warehouse Receipt System Act of 2019, regulates the warehouse receipt system for structured agricultural commodity trade: it runs a central registry, oversees the licensing of warehouse operators, develops commodity grading and weighing standards, and sets up mechanisms for resolving disputes. A 2023 executive order placed it under the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry.[21]
  • The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) provides logistics support to government on food security and carries out market intervention for grains and farm inputs on the government's behalf, and offers services such as aflatoxin testing through the eCitizen platform.[22]

Organizations

Sourced
  • The Kenya National Farmers' Federation (KENAFF) describes itself as a democratic, membership-based national farmers' organisation, with members including individual farmers, county associations and commodity associations; it advocates for farmers and runs projects on areas such as digitisation of value chains, climate resilience and youth employment.[28]
  • The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) describes itself as a farmer-owned model in which smallholder tea farmers own tea factory companies, which in turn own the holding company whose subsidiaries provide services such as warehousing, blending, export, factory management, microfinance and insurance. According to press reports, recent government reforms give some factories more autonomy to negotiate their own tea sales, so arrangements may be evolving.[27][34]

Sources

Links open in a new tab. Statements are paraphrased and checked at the time of writing.

  1. 1.About Us - MoALD — Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development
  2. 2.Strategic Plan for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development 2023-2027 — Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development
  3. 3.Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (abridged version) — Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development
  4. 4.Our Mandate — Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)
  5. 5.Phytosanitary Services — Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)
  6. 6.Standardization Mark — Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)
  7. 7.How do I register a business name? (FAQs) — Business Registration Service (BRS)
  8. 8.Our Organization — Micro and Small Enterprises Authority (MSEA)
  9. 9.Corporate Profile — Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC)
  10. 10.Invest in Kenya — State Department for Investment Promotion / KenInvest
  11. 11.Agriculture and Food Authority Act (Cap. 317) — Kenya Law (National Council for Law Reporting)
  12. 12.Government scales up agricultural reforms to boost productivity, food security (June 2025) — Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (press)
  13. 13.New food safety law seeks to protect consumers, livestock (August 2026) — The Star (press)
  14. 14.Know Your Regulator: Kenya Dairy Board — Food Business Africa (trade press)
  15. 15.KVB Mandate — Kenya Veterinary Board
  16. 16.Kenya secures funding to help smallholder farmers enhance value addition and access markets (NAVCDP press release) — World Bank
  17. 17.KALRO launches five-year National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project — Kenya News Agency
  18. 18.Programs — Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC)
  19. 19.Phytosanitary Services — Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)
  20. 20.About the Agency — Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA)
  21. 21.About Us — Warehouse Receipt System Council
  22. 22.National Cereals and Produce Board eCitizen portal — National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB)
  23. 23.Agriculture and Food Authority Directorates — Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA)
  24. 24.KALRO eCitizen portal — Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)
  25. 25.Agricultural Institutions — County Government of Makueni
  26. 26.Agriculture Technical Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) - Kenya — AUDA-NEPAD
  27. 27.FAQs — KTDA
  28. 28.Kenya National Farmers' Federation — KENAFF
  29. 29.Youth Fund, FAO support youth in agribusiness — Kenya News Agency
  30. 30.Bill seeks to merge state-backed farm loans under single institution — Eastleigh Voice (press)
  31. 31.MPs seek public views on bill to overhaul agricultural lending — Eastleigh Voice (press)
  32. 32.Kenya's Food & Feed Safety Control Coordination Act Explained: What It Means for Food Businesses — TechPalate Insights (commentary)
  33. 33.State Department for Livestock Development — Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development
  34. 34.Tea Factories Gain Autonomy as Government Executes KES 3.5 Billion KTDA Overhaul — Streamlinefeed (press)

Not yet verified for this country

We looked for these but could not confirm them from an official source yet.

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