Ruto: Strengthening agriculture key to sustainable relief

President William Ruto during the State of the Nation Address in the National Assembly. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

President William Ruto on Thursday used his State of the Nation Address to emphasise that lasting economic relief will not come from temporary subsidies or price controls, but from firmly strengthening the foundations of agricultural production.

According to Ruto, agriculture remains the country’s lifeline, noting that any effort to secure households, stabilise prices, create jobs, expand industries, and grow exports must be anchored in a robust and organised agricultural sector.

To enhance planning and service delivery, the government launched a digital farmer registration system in 2022.

"By the end of that year, 300,000 farmers had been captured. Today, more than 7.1 million farmers are registered on the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System, giving the state vital visibility to craft science-based policies, eliminate extortion, and dismantle cartels and middlemen," Ruto stated.

At the same time, the Head of State noted that the impact of government interventions is already being felt across households.

"The price of a 2kg packet of maize flour, he said, has fallen from Sh250 in 2022 to as low as Sh130," he added.

Ruto told the House that the government has distributed 7 million bags of fertiliser and 35 million kilos of certified seed this year.

"In 2026, the plan is to scale up distribution to 12.5 million bags across all 1,451 wards, ensuring every farmer can access affordable farm inputs and boosting productivity across the sector," he concluded.