Digital farmer registration, climate-smart agriculture and value addition present new opportunities for SACCOs to expand lending and support agricultural enterprises.
Agricultural SACCOs have been challenged to strengthen their role in financing Kenya’s agricultural transformation by supporting farm productivity, value addition and access to markets.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Sen. Mutahi Kagwe, speaking during the Nairobi International Trade Fair, called for stronger cooperatives and farmer aggregation to address fragmented production, improve bargaining power and help farmers earn more from their produce.
He said the government’s agricultural transformation agenda was shifting focus from increasing production to improving farmers’ returns.
The CS announced that 8.9 million farmers had registered under the Kenya Integrated Agricultural Management Information System (KIAMIS), providing a digital foundation for targeted delivery of subsidised fertiliser, certified seeds, livestock vaccination and other services.
Through the Kenya Agricultural and Digital Information Center (KADIC), alongside partnerships introducing drone technology and digital addressing, the government also seeks to improve farmer identification, extension services and market access.
For SACCOs, these developments present opportunities to develop agricultural credit products informed by members’ farming activities and production cycles, while improving loan monitoring and risk assessment.
Kagwe also emphasised soil health, noting that 63 per cent of Kenya’s soils were acidic. A national digital soil laboratories project aims to expand access to scientific soil testing, potentially helping farmers improve yields and make better use of financed inputs.
He further highlighted investments in irrigation, livestock infrastructure and climate resilience, noting that marketed livestock production increased from KSh232.3 billion in 2024 to KSh269.4 billion in 2025.
The government is also promoting aggregation, processing and value addition across coffee, tea, dairy, cotton and horticulture, alongside the Warehouse Receipt System to help farmers access financing and avoid distress sales.
For agricultural SACCOs, the opportunities extend beyond individual farm loans to financing storage, processing, transport, livestock enterprises and other agribusinesses.
Kagwe said young people and women should benefit from emerging opportunities across agricultural value chains.
The agenda presents SACCOs with an opportunity to channel members’ savings into productive agricultural investments while strengthening financial inclusion, enterprise development and rural incomes.
