Gov’t to launch programme seeking to deliver 6 million new jobs

Kenya is set to roll out the JobsConnect Compact, a global framework expected to deliver six million new and greener jobs by 2030, Agriculture and Livestock Development Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has announced.

The CS revealed the plan during a briefing at Kilimo House with senior officials from the World Bank’s Regional Office and founding members of the MADE Alliance drawn from Mastercard, Equity Group, Microsoft and the Kenya National Federation of Farmers (KENAFF).

Kagwe said Kenya would become the first African country to complete the framework, describing it as a major step in expanding dignified employment opportunities within a modernised agriculture sector.

He confirmed that all digitisation projects within the Ministry have now been consolidated under the Kenya Agriculture Data and Information Centre (KADIC), which will serve as the central hub for the sector’s full data ecosystem, including KIAMIS.

To streamline information flow, the CS announced that the Agriculture Information and Resource Centre (AIRC) will be relocated to KADIC “to eliminate data duplication and strengthen real-time linkages between farmers, counties, cooperatives, markets, and processors.”

KADIC leadership said the Centre is preparing to spearhead the rollout of the Digital Agriculture Roadmap next year.

Director Betty noted the roadmap will drive technology adoption at scale, while Director of Digital Services Juma Salim said integrating data from the Ministry’s 31 parastatals will ensure farmers access “timely and actionable information.”

The JobsConnect Compact will target job creation, food security, and a shift towards local production, with projections showing 5.3 million new and better jobs, a reduction of food-insecure households by 10 million, import cuts worth between USD 2–3 billion, and an additional USD 5 billion in agricultural export earnings.

Kagwe underscored the role of digital agriculture in improving farmer incomes and drawing youth into a tech-enabled value chain.

He highlighted an ongoing human resource transition in the Ministry, with “30% of departmental heads due to retire, 20% already retired, and over half the workforce set to exit within two years,” calling it an opening to rebuild capacity through Agri-Connect, agri-preneurship training, Kenya Agriculture College programmes, and digitised soil testing services.

During the briefing, Mastercard showcased its payment infrastructure, observing that only 2% of farmer transactions currently move through M-Pesa—an issue the company said limits financial visibility across the value chain.

Equity Bank executives reaffirmed that agriculture remains one of the bank’s core pillars, supporting efforts to boost yields, savings and long-term wealth creation for farmers.

Kagwe also raised concern over the high cost of credit in the sector, stating that agriculture “cannot operate under 18–19% commercial interest rates” and pushing for a guaranteed lending model with 5% interest as a sustainable alternative.

He pointed to continued government investment in subsidising production, citing the Ksh.61 billion fertiliser subsidy programme and a Ksh.17 billion agricultural credit facility meant to stabilise output and make inputs more affordable.