Meeting seeks new funding models to support farming

Nairobi summit will explore the role of cooperatives and Saccos in supporting farmers

by ELISHA SINGIRA

Counties27 March 2025 - 16:43

In Summary

The summit will bring together key stakeholders, including representatives from county governments, international development partners, financial institutions, and agricultural entrepreneurs.

Kenya has taken a leading role in shaping the future of agricultural financing in Africa with the launch of a summit focused on reimagining funding mechanisms for the sector.

The Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainability (FINAS) 2025 Dialogue event held in Nairobi served as a preliminary introduction to the upcoming May 2025 summit, which will bring together policymakers, financial institutions and development partners to discuss sustainable agricultural financing models.

Dr Paul Rono, Principal Secretary of the State Department of Agriculture, who graced the event, underscored the critical role of structured financing policies in ensuring food security and economic transformation.

He said, “Agriculture is the backbone of our economy, contributing over 22 per cent of Kenya’s GDP and employing nearly 70 per cent of our rural workforce. Despite this, the sector has long struggled with financing challenges. It is time to establish structured legal and policy frameworks that will ensure sustainable funding for our farmers.”

The May 2025 summit, which is the second edition of this initiative, aims to explore the best financing models and policy guidelines that can drive agricultural productivity and resilience across Africa. The discussions will center on key issues such as making farming more profitable, attracting youth into agribusiness and leveraging technological innovations for enhanced efficiency.

“Agriculture must be repositioned as a commercial and viable business, not just a subsistence activity. Our farmers deserve to see real returns on their investment. This summit will provide a platform to explore financing models that make agriculture attractive, particularly to our youth, through mechanization, innovation and digitization,” added Dr Rono.

Another major focus of the summit will be the role of cooperatives and SACCOs in supporting farmers. The government plans to strengthen cooperative structures to provide farmers with easier access to credit, farm inputs and capacity-building programs. “We envision cooperatives becoming one-stop shops where farmers can access everything from fertilizers to financing and mechanization services,” Dr. Rono noted.

As part of the initiative, Kenya plans to launch a comprehensive policy framework on sustainable agricultural financing during the May summit. This policy, developed in collaboration with local and international stakeholders, aims to provide a long-term solution to the sector’s funding gaps.

The summit will bring together key stakeholders, including representatives from county governments, international development partners, financial institutions, and agricultural entrepreneurs.

“We invite all actors in the agricultural value chain from policymakers to private sector leaders to contribute to shaping a more sustainable and inclusive financing model for agriculture,” Dr. Rono urged.

With Kenya at the forefront of agricultural transformation, the upcoming summit promises to be a defining moment in the continent’s efforts to unlock the full potential of its agricultural sector through innovative and sustainable financing solutions.