Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe/FILE
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has appealed for increased funding for agricultural research and the recruitment of more scientists.
The CS said Kenya risks failing to get value from new research equipment because of inadequate human capacity.
He spoke during the launch of the Kenya Soil Partnership and Soil Doctors programme at Kalro Kabete.
He said he would appeal to the Public Service Commission to allow the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) to recruit more researchers.
The CS said the organisation is operating at only 52 per cent of its required capacity because of a shortage of scientists.
“We don't have enough researchers,” Kagwe said, adding the shortage was particularly concerning as Kalro expects to receive about 170 pieces of research equipment.
“We cannot have 170 pieces that are coming for use in Kenya, yet we do not have sufficient scientists.”
The CS said the government must ensure that Kalro has sufficient human resources to operate the equipment and translate research into practical solutions for farmers.
“I will be making a special appeal to the Public Service Commission to allow for us to hire scientists so the equipment that we are getting ... will have enough scientists to do research,” he said.
The CS also acknowledged that the government had not done enough to fund agricultural research, saying inadequate investment was contributing to a cycle of low agricultural productivity.
“It is true that we have not done very well as far as funding of research is concerned,” he said.
Kagwe said Kenya's agricultural sector should receive about 10 per cent of the national budget in line with commitments under the Maputo and Kampala declarations.
He, however, said the country was allocating only about three per cent of its resources to agriculture.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development budget estimates show that Kalro has been allocated Sh4.66 billion in gross recurrent funding for the 2026/27 financial year, up from Sh4.53 billion in 2025/26.
Kagwe said inadequate funding creates a cycle in which insufficient investment in agriculture leads to inadequate funding for research, poor soil management and low productivity.
“Because you are not putting enough in agriculture, you are then not putting enough in research. Because you are not improving your soils, you are not getting enough productivity. Because you are not getting enough productivity, you are not getting enough resources. Because you are not getting enough resources, you underfund agriculture.”
He said the way to break the cycle was to increase investment in both agriculture and research. “The only way we do this one is by injecting more money into agriculture and into research,” Kagwe said.
The CS also called for greater recognition of Kenyan scientists whose work has contributed to the development of crop varieties and technologies used by farmers.
He said farmers often know the names of popular crop varieties but have little knowledge of the years of research and work that go into developing them.
“We have not recognised our scientists sufficiently,” Kagwe said.
He cited research into tea and avocado varieties as examples of work by Kenyan scientists that has contributed to the country's agricultural sector.
“We do not take your work for granted,” Kagwe told researchers. “We recognise your role, your work and the amount of input that you put into it.”
The 2026 Economic Survey shows that Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing accounted for 23.2 per cent of GDP in 2025 and grew by 3.1 per cent during the year.
Kagwe said increased investment in research should ultimately be measured by its impact on farmers.
