Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has said that it is time for the ministry to leverage technology in its operations, due to the declining agricultural workforce it is experiencing.
Speaking on Thursday, November 27, Kagwe said that in the next five years, the Ministry of Agriculture is likely to lose half of its workforce through retirement.
Currently, according to the CS, some key institutions, including the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), are experiencing a shortage of scientists, thus crippling the country's ability to conduct effective agricultural research and innovation.
Kagwe said the government will ensure that technology is heavily deployed in the agricultural sector to ensure that the remaining workforce leverages it to boost productivity in the country.
The CS revealed this as he launched the two-day Intergovernmental Agriculture Forum (IGAF) 2025 in Naivasha.
“Technology is what will change agriculture. But our officers and graduates must be trained for that future. In five years, 50 per cent of the Ministry of Agriculture staff will retire. KALRO does not have enough scientists. We must rebuild our human capital now,” Kagwe said.
"He said curriculum reforms, modern extension systems, and aggressive recruitment of young scientists and technicians must form the backbone of Kenya’s agricultural transformation," he added.
Kagwe further said that all counties must also fast-track technology adoption to address the declining soil fertility that is threatening the country's food security.
Other measures that the county governments have been directed to execute to address declining soil fertility include improved fertiliser matching and certified seed adoption.
“Land will not increase. Yet we must feed ourselves and still export. We must address soil health urgently. Fertiliser subsidy must be crop-specific and soil-specific. Seeds must be right for the right regions,” Kagwe said.
“Let us ask ourselves: How can India—with over a billion people—and the US, with more than 300 million, export grain to Kenya? How can Egypt, a desert country, grow enough food? Let us not point fingers. Let us think. Let us innovate,” he added.
The CS further called for a planned adaptation of early response systems and climate-proofed investments to counter the recurrent cycle of drought-driven agricultural losses that some regions are enduring.
