NAIROBI, Kenya — The Kenyan Government has announced a fresh input subsidy programme aimed at helping drought-affected farmers return to production, cutting the price of a 50-kilogramme bag of fertiliser to KSh2,000 and reducing the price of certified maize seed by half.
Under the new intervention, the government will subsidise fertiliser and certified maize seed to cushion farmers who suffered drought-related crop losses and enable them to plant again during the next production cycle.
Farmers will now purchase a 50kg bag of subsidised fertiliser at KSh2,000, down from KSh2,500, while the government will cover 50 per cent of the cost of certified maize seed. This reduces the farmer's price of certified maize seed from KSh300 to KSh150 per kilogramme.
The new seed prices mean that a 2kg pack will cost KSh300 instead of KSh600, a 10kg pack KSh1,500 instead of KSh3,000, while a 25kg pack will cost KSh3,750 instead of KSh7,500.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the maize seed intervention targets approximately 40 million kilogrammes, representing an estimated KSh6 billion government subsidy.
The subsidised fertiliser and maize seed will be distributed to farmers through government-designated distribution channels.
The government says the measures form part of President William Samoei Ruto's administration's shift from subsidising consumption to subsidising production, with the objective of lowering farmers' production costs, increasing agricultural output and strengthening national food security.
The latest reduction brings the price of a 50kg bag of fertiliser to less than a third of the approximately KSh7,500 retail price recorded in 2022.
Since 2022, the government says approximately 33.55 million 50kg bags of subsidised fertiliser have been distributed to about 1.98 million farmers, with government support amounting to approximately KSh78.79 billion.
The intervention comes as Kenya reports significant gains in maize production.
According to the ministry, maize production increased from 34.3 million 90kg bags in 2022 to 73 million bags in 2025, while maize imports declined by more than 66.5 per cent over the same period.
The government says these gains must be protected against the effects of drought, particularly by ensuring that farmers who have lost crops can afford to return to production.
The ministry said the intervention is based on the principle that farmers who lose crops to drought should not also lose their ability to finance the following planting season because fertiliser and seed have become unaffordable.
Beyond the immediate input subsidies, the government says it will continue supporting farmers recovering from drought while investing in irrigation, water harvesting and other climate-smart interventions to strengthen Kenya's resilience to changing weather patterns.
The measures come as climate variability increasingly affects agricultural production across East Africa, placing additional pressure on governments to balance short-term farmer support with longer-term investments in resilient production systems.
The announcement was made by Sen. Mutahi Kagwe, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, on 24 August 2026.
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