Friday, 28 February, 2025
CS Kagwe defends Agriculture and Livestock Development Ministry against budget cuts, says it is backbone of Country’s economy𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬,𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
National Assembly Committee on Agriculture and Livestock chaired by Hon. John Mutunga (Tigania West) has met with the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development to discuss the 2025 Budget Policy Statement (BPS).
Appearing before the Committee CS Mutahi Kagwe alongside his two Principal Secretaries, Dr. Paul Rono of State Department of Agriculture and Jonathan Mueke of State Department of Livestock Development, told the Committee that Agriculture plays a very crucial role in Kenya’s economy and social development and thus commensurate resources should be devoted to it.
According to CS Kagwe, the proposed allocation to his Ministry is Kshs 21. 380 billion for recurrent expenditure and Kshs 38.205 billion for development expenditure.
“The recruitment for recurrent expenditure for State department of agriculture is Kshs 27.488billion against the allocated 21.380billion. In the same department we also require Kshs 50.737 billion for Development expenditure but we have been allocated Kshs 31.690 billion. Meanwhile, for the state department of livestock its required recurrent expenditure is Kshs 6.784 billion against the allocated 4.623 billion and Kshs 22.754 billion for development expenditure against the allocated Kshs 6.515 billion,” CS Kagwe told the Members.
In his presentation PS Rono told the Committee that the among the key programs that is going to be affected by budget cuts is the fertilizer subsidy program.
Reacting to the PS’s presentation, the Chairperson tasked the PS to explain the implementation of the FY 2023/24 budget and give the Committee an explanation on why they need more allocation yet they couldn’t spend what they were allocated during the last FY.
“When the ministry is not able to transfer money to state corporation to a tune of Kshs 2 billion for recurrent expenditure what happens to these corporations? Do they stay without functioning? And more than Kshs 3 billion not utilized for development and yet agriculture is underfunded what explanation would you give treasury to give you more funding if you can’t spend and the cause for it is not treasury,” Hon. Mutunga asked.
On this the PS stated that they are above 80 per cent in implementation of their targets, adding that they really struggled to achieve this despite the issues they’ve had with the exchequer.
The Members also questioned PS Rono on agriculture policies demanding efficient resource distribution.
Hon. David Kiplagat (Soy) questioned the PS on why the Agricultural Finance Authority (AFA) is still not operational despite having a full board and a substantive CEO. In response, PS Rono stated that mechanisms are being put in place to ensure the agency starts functioning effectively.
At the same time, Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi also raised concerns about the distribution criteria for maize driers, urging the PS to reconsider the allocation, emphasizing that driers should be sent to high maize-producing regions.
The MPs criticized the timing of distribution, stating that the driers arrive at the end of the season when they are less effective.
Additionally, MPs questioned the proposed merger of the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Commodities Fund, which provides loans to farmers. They expressed concerns about the institutions being placed under the National Treasury, arguing that the parastatal plays a crucial role in implementing agricultural policies and supporting farmers.
On his part PS Mueke told the Committee that several projects were going to be stalled projects due to no allocation citing the leather sector which he termed as a key strategic opportunity for investment.