President William Ruto has stated that tea production in Kenya has surged under his administration, with earnings rising from Ksh.138 billion in 2022 to Ksh.215 billion in 2024 – a 56% increase.
In his State of Nation address at Parliament buildings on Thursday, the President stated that the government made the decision to subsidise production, prompting Kenyans to march in 2022 with empty sufurias on their heads expressing frustrations due to the unbearable cost of basic commodities.
The Head of State noted that strengthening the foundations of agricultural production and recognizing agriculture as not merely another sector of the economy but the lifeline of the nation would be a great contributor of lasting relief.
“If we were to secure households, stabilize prices, create jobs, expand industry and spur exports, agriculture had to be the fulcrum of our transformation agenda,” Ruto stated.
He mentioned that the government launched an integrated digital platform to register farmers. Ruto noted that in 2022, fewer than 300,000 farmers were on record, but as of 2025, over 7.1 million farmers have been registered on the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System.
He stated that the system gave the government visibility to design scientific, targeted interventions and eliminate extortionists, brokers, cartels and middlemen.
The President said that after fertilizer subsidy, over 21 million bags of affordable fertilizer have been distributed, reducing the price by nearly two-thirds and saving farmers Ksh.105 billion so far.
The President also noted that national maize harvests have risen from 44 million bags in 2022 to 67 million in 2024, setting the stage for a historic harvest of 70 million bags this year.
“The price of a 2kg packet of flour has fallen from Ksh.250 in 2022 to as low as Ksh.130 today. For millions of households, this is meaningful, daily relief,” Ruto cited.
Other than the tea production sector, he noted that transformation across other value chains was equally compelling, referencing the coffee sector, edible oils, cotton production, sugar sector, livestock value chain, and dairy milk production.
By Mirriam Njeri
