Machakos: The Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with AUDA-NEPAD, the African Union Commission, GIZ, IFAD, JICA, GAIN, among other stakeholders have facilitated the review and validation of the draft National Agri-food Systems Investment Plan (NASIP 2026-2030).
According to Kenya News Agency, Principal Secretary, State Department for Agriculture, Dr. Paul Kiprono Rono, officially opened the validation workshop in Machakos. He stated that the exercise marks the culmination of a long, inclusive, and consultative process that brought together stakeholders from across the country and the agricultural ecosystem. Dr. Rono emphasized that NASIP represents a collective commitment to building an agri-food system aimed at delivering prosperity for farmers, creating opportunities for youth, enhancing community resilience, and ensuring national food security.
The document serves as a roadmap for transforming Kenya’s agri-food systems to be productive, competitive, inclusive, climate resilient, nutrition sensitive, and sustainable. It aims to mobilize investments from both the public and private sectors while ensuring these investments generate meaningful impact for farmers, agribusinesses, consumers, and the economy overall. Dr. Rono noted that NASIP aligns Kenya’s priorities with commitments under the CAADP Kampala Declaration and Agenda 2063 of the African Union.
Acknowledging the necessity of collaborative efforts, Dr. Rono highlighted that no single institution can transform agriculture on its own. The success of NASIP depends on strong partnerships among national and county governments, farmers and farmer organizations, private sector actors, development partners, research institutions, and civil society organizations. He encouraged the submission of proposals for solutions to strengthen the final document, urging all stakeholders to finalize transformative investments to shape the future of Kenya’s agri-food systems.
The Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS 2019-2029) envisioned implementation through two investment plans. The first phase, guided by the National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP 2019-2024), provided valuable lessons and demonstrated successes in increasing productivity, enhancing market access, strengthening value chains, promoting food and nutrition security, and improving coordination.
The review of NAIP 2019-2024 highlighted emerging challenges and opportunities that require new approaches and renewed investments, prompting the design of NASIP to respond to these realities. In recent months, the Ministry reviewed the implementation of NAIP 2019-2024, conducted consultations across all 47 counties, engaged Sector Working Groups on Agriculture (SWAGs), consulted private sector actors, development partners, farmer organizations, youth, women, and non-state actors, and incorporated technical inputs and recommendations from various stakeholders.
The validation workshop was a collective national effort and shared vision for the future of Kenya’s agri-food systems, involving Ministry of Agriculture officials, AUDA-NEPAD, African Union Commission, East African Community, development partners including IFAD, JICA, GIZ, GAIN, among others; county government representatives; private sector, farmer organizations, and civil society organizations.
