Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has urged national and county governments to embrace private sector participation as a key driver of agricultural growth and enterprise development in Kenya.
Speaking during the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani Agricultural Revitalisation Summit held in Malindi on February 24-25, 2026, Kagwe said reliance on government funding alone had yielded limited success in running agricultural enterprises.
Private Sector Success Stories
Kagwe cited the cashew nut and sugar sub-sectors, as well as the Galana-Kulalu Food Security Project, as examples where private sector involvement revived struggling initiatives.
“There is a government cashew nut factory here in Kilifi. Is it working? It is not working. Yet there are two private cashew nut factories that are doing very well,” he said, pointing to privately run facilities in Vipingo as evidence of efficiency driven by private investment.
He noted that the Galana-Kulalu project, initially envisioned as a state-run maize production hub, began posting impressive results after private firms injected their own capital.
“Expecting money from the exchequer to help us in enterprise doesn’t really work; and I think as a nation, we need to come to that realisation,” Kagwe stated.
He also highlighted the revival of sugar factories leased to private operators, saying farmers are now receiving regular payments after years of delays.
Call for County Collaboration
The CS encouraged counties to attract investors by offering land and commercial opportunities. He identified government-owned assets such as ADC farms, prison lands, and KALRO facilities as prime areas for collaboration.
“Government can invest in research and regulation, but enterprise thrives when private capital and innovation are brought into the mix,” he said.
Warning Over Land Fragmentation
Kagwe warned that uncontrolled land subdivision is threatening the sustainability of agriculture in Kenya.
“In some cases, a single acre has been divided among six children. We cannot afford to continue this fragmentation. Large, consolidated farms are critical for mechanisation, investment, and building a resilient agricultural economy,” he added.
Coastal Focus on Key Crops
The Acting Director General of the Agriculture and Food Authority, Calistus Kundu, reaffirmed the regulator’s commitment to revitalising coastal agriculture, with a focus on coconut, cashew nut, rice, cassava, cotton, and sunflower farming.
Kundu said production in the region has declined due to aging crops and underinvestment. He revealed that thousands of coconut seedlings have been distributed over the past three years to counties such as Lamu, Kilifi, and Kwale to replace aging trees.
He also noted efforts to boost sunflower production to reduce edible oil imports, expand rice farming in Kwale and Tana River, and introduce disease-resistant cassava varieties.
Digital Agriculture Push
Incoming chairman of the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani economic bloc, Dhadho Gaddae Godhana, called for the adoption of digital technologies to revitalise agriculture.
He described digitisation as a “game changer” capable of improving productivity, increasing farmer incomes, and enhancing efficiency.
Godhana advocated for digital farmer registration systems to strengthen planning and enable targeted subsidies and support programmes.
He also emphasised mobile-based extension services to provide farmers with real-time agronomic advice and pest alerts.
On market access, he said digital trading platforms could give farmers transparent pricing information, reduce exploitation by middlemen, and improve bargaining power.
Additionally, he encouraged counties to integrate climate data and satellite monitoring into their systems to strengthen early warning mechanisms and enhance resilience against climate-related shocks affecting coastal agriculture.
The summit highlighted a growing consensus that strategic public-private partnerships, coupled with technology adoption, could unlock the full potential of agriculture in Kenya’s coastal region.
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