Remarks · 1 October 2025
Wageni wa heshimiwa, Mabibi na Mabwana,
Ni heshima na bahati kubwa kwangu kuungana nanyi katika Maonyesho ya Biashara ya Kimataifa ya Nairobi ya mwaka 2025 — the 2025 Nairobi International Trade Fair — tukio ambalo kwa miaka limekua na kustawi, na sasa linahesabiwa miongoni mwa maonyesho makuu yanayoonesha uwezo wa Kenya katika kilimo na biashara.
From the dawn of our independence to this very day, agriculture, au sekta ya Kilimo, has remained the cornerstone of our economy — uti wa mgongo wa Uchumi wetu. Kilimo ndicho kinacholisha taifa, kinaendesha viwanda vyetu na kimekuwa chanzo cha riziki kwa mamilioni ya wananchi.
On its part, trade is the bloodstream of our prosperity — ndiyo inayobeba mazao ya mashamba yetu na bidhaa kutoka viwandani kupeleka masoko ya humu nchini, na ya kimataifa. Together, agriculture and trade are the twin engines that drive Kenya’s inclusive growth and national development.
The theme of this year’s fair, 'Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture and Trade Initiatives for Sustainable Economic Growth', could not be more timely. It reminds us that, for Kenya to thrive, agriculture must not only feed our people, but also adapt to climate change, embrace sustainability, and leverage innovation. Hii mada pia inatufunza kwamba biashara ndiyo daraja kati ya uzalishaji na ustawi. Pasipo biashara nzuri, jasho la wakulima wetu haliwezi kuleta mapato, ajira na ukuaji.
Yet, Ladies and Gentlemen, the full potential of agriculture has long been constrained by formidable challenges. Prolonged droughts, sudden floods, and erratic rainfall have disrupted planting and harvesting cycles. Gharama za pembejeo — kuanzia mbolea hadi mbegu na madawa ya mimea — zimekuwa mzigo mzito kwa wakulima.
Kugawanywa vipande vipande kwa mashamba, kuharibika kwa udongo na kutotumika Kwa unyunyizaji maji mashamba, ni baadhi ya maswala ambayo yamegandamiza uzalishaji nchini.
On the trade side, barriers to regional markets, high logistics costs, and global price volatility have weakened competitiveness.
Mabibi na Mabwana, ndiyo maana kwa kipindi cha miaka mitatu iliyopita, tumetekeleza mageuzi makubwa ya kijasiri na ya kubadilisha mfumo — na matokeo sasa yanaonekana wazi.
In 2023, we launched the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS) to register farmers on a digital platform and improve service delivery. Today, 7.1 million farmers are active on the platform, up from just 300,000 in 2022.
This digital revolution allows us to deliver subsidies directly, eliminate waste, and target genuine farmers. Through e-vouchers, inputs are accessed transparently. Policymakers now rely on realtime data to respond swiftly and design evidence-driven policies.
Kupitia mpango wa ruzuku ya mbolea, tumepunguza bei kutoka KSh7,500 hadi KSh2,500 kwa gunia. Kufikia sasa, zaidi ya magunia milioni 21.3 ya mbolea yamesambazwa kwa gharama ya shilingi bilioni 53.2, na hivyo kuokoa shilingi KSh105 bilioni kwa wakulima.
Tukitazamia mbele, mwaka wa 2026 tutasambaza zaidi ya magunia milioni 12.5 ya mbolea katika wadi zote 1,450 nchini, mbali na magunia milioni 4.5 ambayo tayari yamepatikana kwa msimu wa mvua unaondelea sasa.
Hatua hizi sasa zinaanza kuzaa matunda. Uzalishaji wa mahindi ulipanda na kufikia rekodi ya magunia milioni 67 mwaka wa 2024. Mwaka huu tunatarajia kuvuna magunia milioni 70.
Uagizaji wa mahindi kutoka nje umepungua kwa karibu asilimia 70, kutoka magunia milioni 9.9 mwaka wa 2022, hadi magunia milioni 3.3 mwaka wa 2024.
At the same time, consumer prices have eased. The cost of a 2kg packet of maize flour has fallen by 34%, from KSh250 in 2022 to KSh165 in 2025. The price of a 90kg bag of maize has dropped by 31%, from KSh4,250 to KSh3,250.
Uzalishaji wa chai umeongezeka kwa asilimia 12, huku mapato yakipanda kwa asilimia 40, kutoka KSh138 bilioni mwaka wa 2022, hadi KSh215 bilioni mwaka wa 2024. Mapato ya wakulima wadogo yamepanda kutoka KSh50 hadi KSh64 kwa kilo moja ya majani mabichi ya chai.
I am also happy to report that the Kenya Development Corporation has secured a KSh3.7 billion concessionary loan for KTDA to modernise equipment in smallholder factories, reduce production costs, and diversify into Orthodox teas to address the global glut in Black CTC.
Katika sekta ya kahawa, bei ya imepanda kutoka KSh79 hadi KSh120 kwa kilo. Serikali imeweka shilingi bilioni 3, katika hazina ya kushugulikia wakulima wa kahawa (Coffee Cherry Revolving Fund), na kufutulia mbali deni la shilingi bilioni 2. Aidha tumeimarisha shughuli za kutoa miche na mbolea, I’ll kuongeza mara tatu uzalishaji wa kitaifa kufikia mwaka 2028.
Katika sekta ya parachichi, miche milioni 3.9 imesambazwa tangu mwaka wa 2022. Kwa macadamia, korosho na nazi, zaidi ya miche milioni 3 imetolewa kwa wakulima.
Mabibi na Mabwana, sekta ya maziwa imeongezeka kwa lita milioni 700 tangu mwaka wa 2022, na wakulima sasa wanahakikishiwa kiwango cha chini cha KSh50 kwa lita. Mauzo ya maziwa katika masoko ya nje ya nchi umeongezeka mara dufu, huku mitambo ya barafu mia tatu 300 ya kuhifadhi maziwa (milk coolants), ikisambazwa kwa vyama vya wafugaji wa ngombe wa maziwa.
In leather, exports of value-added goods rose by 56%, and local shoe production reached 11.4 million pairs annually.
Fellow citizens, Kenya cannot, and will not, continue to be an exporter of raw produce. For decades, we have exported our tea, our coffee, our livestock, our minerals, our cotton, our hides and skins, and even our fish in their raw form - only to import them back at a premium as finished products.
This model has denied our farmers, workers, and entrepreneurs the full value of their hard work and ingenuity. That era must end. Through special economic zones, County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs), and common user facilities - such as the one we recently launched in Vipingo, and the ones we are launching soon in Dongo Kundu, and Naivasha - we are determined to add value to every product, to create jobs for our people, to raise incomes for farmers, and to ensure that more wealth stays in Kenya.
Value addition is not just an economic strategy; it is the key to prosperity for every stakeholder across value chains. That is why we are, for example, working with the private sector to establish common user facilities in Kericho, Nairobi, and Mombasa to increase value-added exports of tea from the current 5% to at least 50% in the medium term.
Aidha, tunajenga maeneo maalum na viwanda vya kukusanya, kutayarisha na kuongeza thamani kwa mazao (CAIPs), katika kaunti zote 47. Hivi ndivyo vitakavyokuwa vituo vya wakulima kupeleka mazao yao, kupata hifadhi ya baridi, maghala ya kisasa na mitambo ya kuongeza thamani, na kuunganishwa moja kwa moja na masoko ya ndani na ya nje. Kwa njia hii, tutapunguza hasara baada ya mavuno, kuondoa madalali wanaowanyonya wakulima, yaani brokers na cartels, kupunguza gharama za usafirishaji, na kuhakikisha mkulima anapata malipo bora.
Value addition alone, however, is not enough. Our farmers and producers must also access larger and more lucrative markets. That is why Kenya is leveraging agreements like the African Continental Free Trade Area, opening doors to a market of 1.4 billion people and a GDP of $3.4 trillion.
Mabibi na Mabwana, mageuzi haya si kwenye kilimo na biashara pekee. Yanashuhudiwa katika kila sekta ya maisha ya taifa letu. Katika makazi au housing, zaidi ya nyumba 170,000 za bei nafuu au affordable houses zinajengwa, zikileta heshima kwa familia na ajira kwa maelfu. Katika elimu, tumetekeleza mfumo mpya wa ufadhili unaomlenga mwanafunzi kwa elimu ya juu, na tuko njiani kuajiri walimu 100,000 katika kipindi cha miaka mitatu ijayo, ili kulinda mustakabali wa watoto wetu.
Katika afya, zaidi ya Wakenya milioni 26.5 wamesajiliwa chini ya Social Health Authority, wakihakikishiwa huduma bora na nafuu. Mageuzi haya si hatua za kisia tu; ni mpango makusudi na shupavu wa kuunda upya uchumi na jamii ya Kenya. Yanadhihirisha ukubwa wa maono yetu, kina cha dhamira yetu na hakika ya hatima yetu kama taifa linaloinuka.
The outcomes we have achieved so far affirm a simple truth: Kenya has never lacked resources or talent or ideas. What we lacked was steadfast focus, courage of conviction, and bold leadership to rise above mediocrity and pursue excellence.
I have made a deliberate and intentional choice not to settle for the ordinary, and I invite you, fellow citizens, to make the same choice. Our destiny is not average; it is extraordinary. That excellence is not a mere dream: It is real, it is possible, and it is within reach.
And with those remarks, it is now my distinct honour and privilege to officially declare the 2025 Nairobi International Trade Fair open. I thank you.