President William Ruto has called for an end to the export of raw agricultural produce, saying Kenya must invest aggressively in value addition and agro-processing to unlock the full potential of its farming sector.
Speaking on Wednesday during the official opening of the 2025 Nairobi International Trade Fair at Jamhuri Park Grounds, the President said agricultural manufacturing is the next frontier in transforming the country’s largest sector.
“For decades, we have exported our tea, our coffee, our livestock, our cotton, our hides and skins, and even our fish in raw form only to import them back at a premium as finished products. This model has denied farmers, workers and entrepreneurs the full value of their hard work. That era must end,” Dr. Ruto said.
The Head of State said the government is partnering with the private sector to expand value-added exports through common user facilities and County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs).
Facilities are being set up in Kericho, Nairobi, and Mombasa to increase value-added tea exports from the current 5 per cent to at least 50 per cent in the medium term.
Additionally, the government is establishing CAIPs in all 47 counties to provide cold storage, warehousing, and modern processing facilities for farmers.
The President said these parks will reduce post-harvest losses, cut out exploitative middlemen, lower logistics costs, and connect farmers directly to local and international markets.
“Value addition is not just an economic strategy; it is the key to prosperity for every stakeholder across the value chains,” he emphasized.
To expand market access, Dr. Ruto noted that Kenya has secured trade agreements with blocs such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the European Union, China and the United Arab Emirates, opening export opportunities to more than three billion consumers.
The President also highlighted progress in ongoing agricultural reforms, noting that 7.1 million farmers have been registered to receive targeted support, while the government has distributed 4.5 million bags of subsidized fertiliser this season. An additional 12.5 million bags will be rolled out in 2026 across all 1,450 wards.
These measures, he said, are bearing fruit, with maize output rising to a record 67 million bags in 2024 and projected to hit 70 million this year. Maize imports have meanwhile dropped by nearly 70 per cent, from 9.9 million bags in 2022 to 3.3 million in 2024.
President Ruto also praised efforts to support tea farmers, announcing that the Kenya Development Corporation has secured a KSh3.7 billion concessionary loan for KTDA farmers to modernize smallholder factories, cut production costs and diversify into Orthodox teas.
He reiterated that agriculture and trade remain the “twin turbo-engines of Kenya’s prosperity” under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, ensuring that farmers’ hard work translates into jobs and higher incomes.