Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has confirmed that Kenya’s key agricultural sectors, including tea, coffee, edible oil, and sugar, have recorded meaningful growth over the past three years. Presenting the 2026/2027 Budget Statement in Parliament on Thursday, June 11, 2026, Mbadi attributed the gains to targeted government interventions aimed at boosting productivity and improving earnings for farmers across major value chains.
The figures Mbadi cited paint a positive picture for a sector that millions of Kenyan farming households depend on directly. Production volumes are up, export earnings have grown, and acreage under key crops has expanded. The question now is whether those gains can be sustained and broadened to reach more farmers across the country.
Tea Production and Export Earnings Both Rise
Kenya’s tea sector delivered one of the stronger performances in the data Mbadi presented. Tea production climbed to 550.4 million kilograms in 2025, up from 535.04 million kilograms in 2022. That increase in volume translated directly into higher export earnings, which rose from KSh 163.3 billion to KSh 187.1 billion over the same period.
“Tea production has grown to 550.4 million kilograms in 2025 from 535.04 million kilograms in 2022, while tea export earnings rose significantly to KSh 187.1 billion from KSh 163.3 billion over the same period,” Mbadi told Parliament.
Tea remains Kenya’s single largest agricultural export earner and a livelihood source for hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers, particularly in the Central and Rift Valley regions. Growth in both volume and earnings, when they move together, signals genuine sector health rather than simply higher prices masking flat production.
Government Interventions Credited for the Gains
Mbadi was clear that the growth did not happen in isolation. He linked the performance across agricultural sectors to deliberate government programmes targeting productivity, input access, and market linkages for farmers. Those interventions, delivered through bodies including the Kenya Tea Development Agency, the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries, and sector-specific support programmes, were framed as proof that structured government engagement in agriculture delivers measurable results.
The budget CS used the agricultural growth data to make a broader argument about the direction of Kenya’s economic policy. When farmers earn more, rural household incomes rise, consumption increases, and local economies grow. Agriculture, in that framing, is not just a sector but a foundation for broader economic transformation.
Coffee, Sugar and Edible Oil Also Show Progress
Beyond tea, Mbadi noted growth across the coffee, sugar, and edible oil sectors. Kenya’s coffee sector has been the subject of significant reform efforts in recent years, including changes to the marketing structure designed to ensure farmers receive a larger share of export earnings. Those reforms appear to be contributing to improved performance in the sector.
Sugar, long one of Kenya’s most troubled agricultural industries, has also shown signs of recovery. The government has been working to stabilise struggling state-owned sugar companies while managing the balance between protecting local producers and keeping sugar prices affordable for consumers. Growth in this sector, even modest, is a positive signal given how difficult the environment has been.
Also read:Kenya Budget 2026/2027: How KSh 4.82 Trillion Will Be Spent
Edible oil production growth reflects Kenya’s push to reduce import dependence in a commodity that affects the cost of food across the entire economy. Expanding local production of sunflower, soybean, and other oil crops reduces the vulnerability of Kenyan consumers to global edible oil price swings.
What This Means for the 2026/2027 Budget
The agricultural growth data matters beyond its headline numbers. A productive farming sector generates tax revenue, reduces the import bill, and creates the kind of broad-based income growth that supports consumer spending across the economy. For a budget that is counting on KSh 3.63 trillion in revenue collections, a growing agricultural sector makes that target more achievable.
The Ministry of Agriculture receives KSh 62.9 billion in the 2026/2027 budget, directed at fertilizer subsidies and food system resilience. Whether that allocation is sufficient to sustain the growth momentum Mbadi described, and extend it to sectors and regions that have not yet benefited, will be one of the key tests of the budget’s agricultural ambitions over the coming year.