Kenya Targets Smarter Farming as 8.9 Million Farmers Join National Digital Register

Kenya is stepping up efforts to modernise agriculture through digital farmer registration, scientific soil testing, drone technology and improved market infrastructure as the government seeks to raise productivity and farmer incomes.

Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said 8.9 million farmers have now been registered through the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS).

Speaking during the Nairobi International Trade Fair, Kagwe said the registration would help the government identify farmers and deliver services more accurately. These include subsidised fertiliser, certified seed, sexed semen, livestock vaccination and animal identification services.

The CS said better farmer data would also improve accountability in the distribution of government support and help services reach farmers more efficiently.

Kagwe, however, warned that poor soil health remains a major constraint to agricultural productivity. He said 63 percent of Kenya’s soils are acidic, making soil testing an important part of improving fertiliser use and crop performance.

“Our business as the ministry, and government, is the soil health, not the fertilizer,” Kagwe said, stressing the need for farmers to base input decisions on scientific information.

He compared applying farm inputs without first testing the soil to taking medicine without a proper diagnosis. According to the CS, farmers risk spending money on inputs that may not address the actual limitations of their soils.

The government launched the national digital soil laboratories project on September 29 to expand access to soil testing. The initiative will establish a connected network of modern laboratories under the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization.

The laboratories are expected to work with national and county governments, farmers, private-sector actors and last-mile soil doctors to increase the availability and speed of soil testing services.

Kagwe also announced the Kenya Agricultural and Digital Information Center (KADIC), which he described as the sector’s “single source of truth” for agricultural information.

The centre is intended to improve coordination of farmer identification, extension services, agricultural inputs and market connections. The government expects better data sharing to support more targeted agricultural interventions.

Technology will also play a larger role in field operations. Through a partnership with Fahari Aviation, a subsidiary of Kenya Airways, the Ministry of Agriculture is introducing drone technology for precision input application, crop and livestock monitoring and soil analysis.

The drones will also support the detection of pests, diseases and climate-related risks, while helping farmers and service providers use agricultural resources more efficiently.

Another partnership with MPost will introduce digital addressing to help identify and locate farmers. The system is expected to strengthen last-mile delivery of extension services while improving farmers’ links to finance, insurance, agricultural inputs and markets.

Kagwe said the digital partnerships would also contribute to building Kenya’s capacity in artificial intelligence and locally developed large language models, alongside frameworks for data protection and oversight.

He said the success of the digital agriculture programme would ultimately depend on implementation and whether farmers receive services on time, improve productivity and earn better incomes.

Kagwe noted that Kenya’s agriculture sector grew by 3.1 percent in 2025 but continues to face pressure from climate variability, rising production costs and changing market requirements.

He identified climate change as one of the biggest threats to agricultural production, noting that droughts and floods impose long-term economic costs estimated at about 2 to 2.8 percent of Kenya’s gross domestic product each year.

The government is therefore positioning digital technology, soil health management and climate-smart farming as key tools in making Kenyan agriculture more productive and resilient.