Agriculture CS Mutahi Kagwe when he appeared before National
Assembly Committee on Agriculture on February 21, 2025.Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has implored on MPs to formulate laws that will tame sale of fake seeds and counterfeit fertiliser to farmers.
Appearing before National Assembly Committee on Agriculture for the 2025 Budget Policy Statement, Kagwe decried increased cases of fake seeds and fertiliser in the market.
"Fake seeds, counterfeit fertilizers—these aren't just bad business, they're a threat to our nation's food security. We cannot allow unscrupulous dealers to undermine our farmers and jeopardise our agricultural future,” he stated.
The CS urged legislators to take strong and decisive action to tame the menace.
“We need laws that deliver the harshest penalties for those who peddle these dangerous fakes,” he stated.
Principal Secretaries Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh (Agriculture) and Jonathan Mueke (Livestock Development) accompanied the CS to the committee chaired by Tigania West MP John Mutunga.
Kagwe emphasised that Agriculture is key in driving Kenya’s economic and social growth by enhancing food and nutrition security, job creation, wealth generation, and foreign exchange earnings.
He noted that the livelihoods of 70 per cent of Kenyans depend on agriculture.
The CS reaffirmed the government's commitment to making the sector the cornerstone of Kenya’s economic transformation under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
He added that the nationwide vaccination campaign is a critical step towards eradicating Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), safeguarding cattle, sheep, and goats.
He said the diseases not only cripple productivity and threaten food security but also inflict staggering economic losses – up to Sh62 billion annually – through market closures and high mortality rates.
“Achieving disease-free status, certified by the World Organisation for Animal Health within the next three years, is within our reach and will unlock immense economic potential for Kenya,” he told the committee.
Kagwe added that the country is seeing real progress in agriculture, fueled by strategic investments in the 2023/25 and 2024/25 budgets.
“The Sugar Act 2024, for example, has already delivered impressive results. Sugarcane production has rebounded dramatically, reaching 820,000 metric tonnes in 2024. We're closing the supply gap rapidly, and I'm confident that by 2026, Kenya will proudly become a net exporter of sugar,” he stated.
