Government's funding of research projects in universities and the National Research Fund has continued to drop every year.
Data from the State Department on Higher Education and Research say the funding has dropped from Sh2 billion to Sh500 million this year.
To bridge the gap, institutions have been tasked to apply for grants for research activities.
PS Beatrice Inyangala said the government is keen to boost its allocation in research to improve services.
"The government has so far allocated 0.8 per cent of its annual budget from the two per cent committed to fund research initiatives," she said.
Inyangala spoke during the National Stakeholders Engagement on Research Science, Technology and Innovation conference at the Lake Naivasha Resort.
She urged universities to share resources and drive commercialisation of research findings.
She said the government is developing the National Research, Science, Technology and Innovation framework to strengthen research activities and curb duplication.
National Research Fund CEO Dickson Andala said the organisation supported 19 institutions and universities through infrastructure grants for research ecosystems.
He said the fund in partnership with the private sector had supported research with more than Sh1B allocated in the last two years.
Florah Kariuki from the Ministry of Education, said Africa only accounts for 1.1 per cent of research output globally.
“There's a need to build capacities in order to contribute more to global research,” she said.
Kariuki urged institutions to strengthen their research proposals to attract more grants.
Tom Mboya University Vice Chancellor Charles Ochola called for commercialisation of research findings to address challenges.
He said the university had inked a 14-year partnership deal with Irvine University of California to undertake Malaria research in Lake Victoria.
"The university is championing requisite research of cotton to help the government roll out, commercialisation and revival of cotton and textile industry in Nyanza," he said.
The university has also partnered with Lake Victoria region county governments to inform research-based key interventions for challenges in the county.