Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi has said the future of agriculture lies in innovation, data and technology, a practice that should be urgently embraced in the country.
Mudavadi said his office is working with the Ministry of Agriculture and like-minded national and international institutions to build integrated digital ecosystems that will revolutionize service delivery within the agricultural sector.
These systems are expected to support farmer registration, e-extension, digital input access, and real-time market intelligence.
“For agriculture to thrive, partnerships must deepen and coordination must strengthen. The Government alone cannot achieve the transformation we seek,” Mudavadi said.
He also urged the private sector to lead in investment, processing, and logistics while also calling on development partners to continue supporting financing, capacity building, and knowledge sharing.
Similarly, he called for the need to empower county governments to implement programmes at the grassroots, where real transformation happens.
“My Office remains committed to facilitating coordination across all these actors. We will continue to bridge the gap between policy and practice, ensuring that every initiative is aligned, efficient, transparent, and results-oriented. This approach will ensure that national ambitions translate into tangible benefits for farmers and rural communities,” he explained.
He was speaking when he attended the national agribusiness excellence awards during the fifth National Agribusiness Summit held in Nairobi.
He urged counties to invest in agricultural data platforms that align with national systems such as Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System and the National Farmer Registration System.
These, he said, will ensure that planning and resource allocation are based on credible data and that every farmer in Kenya is visible, reachable, and supported effectively.
He also said that innovation hubs and incubators will continue to play a pivotal role, linking youth-led startups and agri-tech innovators with public programmes, financial institutions, and investors ready to scale transformative ideas.
The PCS also emphasized on value addition and agro-processing saying Kenya can no longer afford to export raw produce only to import processed goods at a premium.
According to Mudavadi, this practice drains national wealth and denies our youth jobs.
“We are promoting local manufacturing and agro-processing to ensure that more value is retained within our borders. By supporting the establishment of cottage industries, cold storage facilities, and agro-industrial parks, we are not only improving farm incomes but also creating sustainable employment, especially for women and young people who are the future of this nation,” he said.
Mudavadi said that agriculture remains the cornerstone of national development agenda and is the heartbeat of rural economies, the source of food and nutritional security, and the foundation upon which millions of livelihoods depend.
It contributes not only to exports and industrial growth but also to the very stability of our nation.
Despite this, he regretted that agriculture has been viewed merely as a means of survival and time has come to reposition it as a competitive, profitable, and technology-driven business sector capable of powering Kenya’s transformation.
He said the Government has made bold and deliberate policy commitments to drive this transition.
Through the Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS) and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), Mudavadi said the Government is undertaking reforms that cut across value chains, strengthen market systems, and modernize rural infrastructure.
“These frameworks are helping us to align county and national interventions, eliminate duplication, and deliver tangible results for our farmers and agripreneurs,” he explained.
One of the Government’s foremost priorities is market efficiency.
“For decades, our farmers have remained price-takers in their own markets, vulnerable to exploitation and volatility. This must change,” he insisted.
By strengthening aggregation centres, cooperatives, and digital marketplaces, he said the Government seeks to connect smallholder farmers directly to buyers, processors, and exporters.
This will enable them to negotiate better prices, access new markets, and earn higher returns for their labour and investment.
This year’s summit brought together leaders from government, the private sector, academia, and development partners, united by a shared mission to transform agriculture into a vibrant engine of enterprise, innovation, and prosperity.
It was guided by the theme “From Promise to Action: Advancing Agribusiness through Dialogue and Innovation,” with conversations and commitments forged affirming one truth, the future of agriculture lies in innovation, data, and technology.
